U/i5eo9si9's 
f{drr\\^^\or) 
f\s a 
State 



F 

6"55 



BY ARTHUR J. DODGE. 




Class r vT^^i 



From The Milwaukee Sentinel of June 5 and June 12, 1898. 



WISCONSIN'S ADMISSION AS A STATE 



The History of the Enabling and Admission Acts in 
the XXIXth and XXXth Congresses. 



statesmen Whose Names Are Associated With the Times and the Stirring Po= 
litical Issues Fifty Years Ago. 



BY ARTHUR J. DODGE. 

WnsMngton Correspondent 0(f The Milwaukee 
Sentinel and The St. Paul Pioneer Press. 



Political Conilitioiis in 184C, Wlien 
3Iorgan Ij. Martin, Delegate Prom 
Wisconsin Territory in tUe TTven- 
ty-nintli Congress, Introduced a 
Bill 3IaUing' Preliminary Provi- 
sions for the Admission of Wiscon- 
sin — Incidents Connected WitU the 
Passage of the E^nnhling Act. 

In the last congress (Twenty-eighth) a commu- 
nication was received from the governor of 
Wi.sconsin concerning certain resolutions passed 
l)y her legislature. It was said that the United 
States government had given up a part of Wis- 
consin to the states of Illinois and Indiana, and 
that in forming the new state of Michigan con- 
gress had invaded the territory of Wisconsin. He 
gave us notice that if we did not give it back 
he would fight the whole of us. True, he said, 
it was an unequal contest, but the people of 
Wisconsin would appeal to the God of t>attles.— 
Hon. Samuel P. Vinton of Ohio, in the House of 
Representatives. June 9. 1846. 

The first move towards the admission of 
Wisconsin into the Union was the passage 
by congress of an Enabling act, wihich au- 
thorized the people of Wisconsin territory 
to adopt a constitution, and form a state 
government preparatory to admission. 
This act was passed by the Twenty-ninth 
congress and was signed by President 
James K. Polk on August 6, 1846. Morgan 
L. Martin of Green Bay, delegate in the 
house from Wisconsin, introduced the En- 
abling bill. 

Looking back over the little more than 
100 years since the government of the 
United States was established in its pres- 
ent constitutional form, it will be ob- 
served that the date marked by the admis- 
sion of Wisconsin to the union of states 
was approximately in the center of that 
100-year period. It seems a long time 
since Wisconsin entered the Union, and 
few there are in the state who have a clear 
recollection of the scenes and incidents 
connected with that event. An examina- 



tion of the historic records from the estab- 
lishment of the national government down 
to the admission of Wisconsin gives one 
the impression that the first period in our 
national history was much shorter than 
the half century since Wisconsin became 
one of the union of states. 

Those were eventful years from the date 
of the inauguration of George Washington 
as the first president, down through the 
period of the war with Great Britain in 
1812 to the 'Mexican war period of 1846. 
The people of the country were then busily 
engaged in their struggles to establish 
homes on the already receding frontier; 
they were contesting in the arenas of poli- 
tics over questions relating to internal im- 
provements in the new country; over the 
tariff and monetary questions, and prob- 
lems relating to slavery; the acquisition 
of new territory, the admission of 
states and other questions involved in the 
politics of the new nation. So the repub- 
lic was indeed young when Wisconsin be- 
came an integral part of it. Events seem 
to have moved with greater rapidity in 
those old days when questions of great 
moment were more frequently discussed. 
Perhaps the seeming shortness of the time 
is due to the fact that, in looking back over 
those years, one notices only the great 
events of the time, the lofty peaks in the 
passing scenes of history, and the inter- 
vening days are almost entirely disre- 
garded. 

Looking For^vard From 1780. 

Ten years after the constitution was 
adopted the first president of the republic 
passed away from earth. Ten years later 
the muttering® of the approaching con- 
flict with Great Britain were disturbing 
the people of the young nation. In 1812, 
the storm broke and war was upon the 
country. In the midst of that war the 
British soldiery marched upon the nation's 
capital and burned the public buildingig 
including the then partly completed 
c&pitol. When delegates from the terri- 
tory of Wisconsin came to the seat of 



government in the years from 1836 to 
1848, they saw workmen still engaged in 
repairing the damage wrought by the red- 
coated vandals of 1814. Twenty years had 
elapsed since that disaster of war when 
George W. Jones took his seat in the 
house of representatives as Wisconsin's 
first territorial delegate. Building opera- 
tions were slow in those days and years 
were spent in the work of rebuilding and 
repairing the public buildings of Washing- 
ton. When Wisconsin was admitted the 
city and tiie capitol were still in a crude 
and uncompleted condition. Evidences 
must have been abundant, all along from 
the Atlantic seaboard, through the capital 
of the nation and out to the Mississippi 
river, the then extreme outpost of civiliza- 
tion, to convince the traveler of thoise dayfl 
that this was a young republic. Glancing 
back over the history of the country one 
is impressed, not only with the tremen- 
dous growth, of the country since the 
Civil war, but also with the fact that, 
considering the facilities for transporta- 
tion during the period from 1800 to 1848, 
the growth of the West during the first 
fifty years of the nation's life wais mait 
marvellous. 

While the residents of Wisconsin terri- 
tory in the years from 1840 to 1846 were 
concerning themselves about gaining ad- 
mission to the union of states, the public 
men of the nation were engrossed with 
questions of grave national moment. The 
seed was planted in those days from which 
grew the mighty issues that during the 
next quarter of a century so agitated the 
people of the country as to shake the very 
foundations of the republic. Among these 
questions were slavery, the national 
finances, the tariff and the acquisition of 
new territory with or without the right of 
the slaveholder to carry into it his pecu- 
liar kind of "property." So intense was 
popular feeling over these questions that 
even the question of a national war was 
alleged by one part of the people to have 
turned on the question of slavery and the 
desire for more territory to add to the 
power of the advocates of the extension 
of slavery. 

While the fiftieth anniversary of Wis- 
consin statehood is celebrated the United 
States is at war with Spain. During two 
years of the time in which the congress of 
the United States was considering the ques- 
tion of the admission of Wisconsin, and 
just before that result was accomplished, 
the nation was at war with Mexico. The 
month of February, 1848, witnessed the 
conclusion of peace, and during that month 
the bill was introduced in congress for the 
admission of Wisconsin. It is an inter- 
e-ting fact that in the midst of the Mex- 
ican war congress turned from the absorb- 
ing quebtions attending that conflict to 
pass the Enabling act preliminary to the 
admission of the state. 

Tlio National Capital in 1846. 

When Morgan L. Martin of Green Bay 
took his seat in the Twenty-ninth congress 
as delegate from Wisconsin territory, he 
found himself among men who had occu- 
pied high places in the councils of the na- 
tion for many years, some of them almost 
from the date of the birth of the republic. 



Others of his colleagues became famous In 
later years by participating in the stirring 
events which preceded the Civil war. The 
national capital at that time was a small, 
dirty, wretched place. The capitol was 
just passing out of the hands of the artistis 
and artisans who repaired and enlarged it 
after the destructive work of the British 
army. The building was about half its 
present size. The dome was a small, squat 
ty affair, and the wings were only the nar- 
row portions of the building which con • 
nect the senate and house wings with the 
main building that is now surmounted by 
a dome rising 365 feet above the earth. 
The city had a few small public buildings. 
The residents were mairrly huddled about 
the capitol square in i^mall. red brick 
dwellings, east of the capitol or on Penn- 
sylvania for four or five blocks' distance. 
This formed the business as well as resi- 
dence sections of the city. This was sev- 
eral years before Charles Dickens made 
sarcastic comments upon the shabby and 
dilapidated capital of a "pretentious na- 
tion," and before Mark Twain spoke of the 
red clay streets of Washington as needing 
only slight dilution to make them suitable 
for canals. Around the capitol square, 
now a magnificent park, there was a high 
iron fence the gates of which were closed 
when congress adjourned at night. 

Mr. Martin took up his abode in one of 
the many boarding houses of the town, 
Mrs. Smallwood's on East Capitol street, 
a short walk from the legislative buildings. 
Among his fellow boarders were Augustus 
C. Dodge, delegate from Iowa territory, 
eon of Henry Dodge, Wisconsin's first ter- 
ritorial governor and later (senator. Jacob 
Thompson of Mississippi who. a dozen 
years later, as a member of the cabinet of 
James Buchanan, startled the people of 
the North by his bold efforts in aid of se- 
cession, was also an occupant of the same 
residence. 

The house then met in the old hall of 
representatives in what is termed the 
main building — the large, semi-circular 
room now known as "Statuary hall." Mr. 
Martin was assigned to seat No. 126, r\ear 
the middle aisle on the Democratic side 
of the chamber. Near him sat R. Barn- 
well Rhett, and in front of him sat W. L. 
Yancey, both leading Southern Democrats, 
who were conspicuous in the siecession 
movement a few years later. 

Reflect a moment upon the names of 
the leading men in public life in the period 
from 1840 to the close of the Civil war. 
In that list are the names of Daniel Weto- 
ster, John C. Calhoun, Abraham Lincoln, 
Henry Clay, Jefferson Davis, Stephen A. 
Douglas, Andrew Johnson, Jacob Col- 
lamer, Alex H. Stephens, John Quincy 
Adams, Horace Greeley, Joshua R. Gid- 
dings, and others. Many of these polit- 
ical leader?, then serving in either the 
senate or house, had a part in the legis- 
lative action which paved the way for the 
admission of Wisconsin. During the pas- 
sage of the Enabling act, Stephen A. Dou- 
glas was a member of the Committee on 
Territories, which reported the bill. In the 
next congress, as a member of the sen- 
ate, he was chairman of the Committee on 
Territories, which reported the Admission 
bill. Abraham Lincoln was in the nouse 
when the Admission bill passed that body 



and made a motion to reconsider the vote 
by which the bill was passed — a motion 
that would, under many circumstances, be 
regarded as a hostile act. Mr. Lincoln 
made the motion solely for the purpose 
of securing opportunity for making a 
speech on the subject of public lands and 
their relation to the territories and new 
states, and internal improvements in gen- 
eral. 

The Political Issues of tlie Time. 

When the Twenty-ninth congre®s met in 
December, 1845, according to the com- 
ments of that time, "the South was in 
the saddle." Agitation for the perpetua- 
tion and extension of slavery was general 
among the sympathizers with that move- 
ment in both houses. The annexation of 
Texas had just been effected under con- 
ditions which impressed many people at 
the North that it was a move intended to 
strengthen the cause of slavery in the 
country. Mexico had protested against 
the annexation of Texas, had discontinued 
diplomatic intercourse with the United 
States, and hostilities between the na- 
tions were imminent. A few days after 
the holiday recess in the winter of 1845-6, 
Delegate Martin presented the Enabling 
bill. On Jan. .9, 1846, he gave notice in 
the house of his intention to introduce 
such a bill and on Jan. 14 he presented 
the measure which became a law six 
months later. 

It must have appeared to Mr. Martin, 
and to the people at home in the territory, 
that the occasion was not very favorable 
for securing action by congress on the 
Enabling bill. Within sixty days after the 
measure was introduced, and before ac- 
tion was taken on it by the committee 
having it in charge, the troiops of the 
United States under Gen. Taylor had been 
ordered to occupy disputed territory in the 
region of the Rio Grande. Resistance by 
the Mexican forces followed, and hostili- 
ties were opened. Although it was claimed 
by the Whig leaders that the war was be- 
gun by President Polk in the interests of 
the slavery element in the country, when 
the executive sent a message to congress 
on May 11, announcing that a state of war 
existed between the United States and 
Mexico, the Whig opposition voted for the 
war fund appropriations necessary to de- 
fend the nation. The formal declaration 
of war and the war fund measures were 
occupying the attention of congress with- 
in three days of the time the house gave 
consideration to the Wisconsin Enabling 
bill. 

The Democratic party being in control 
in both branches of congress, it was nat- 
ural that the Admiission bill should be es- 
pecially championed by Democratic repre- 
sentatives and senators, particularly from 
the Northwest region. Then, as now, the 
delegate from a territory had no vote in 
the house, and in those days he was not 
even assigned to committee places. His 
chief business was confined to "legging 
around" among the legislators in the in- 
terests of the measures favored by his 
people at home. But the house gave 
prompt consideration to the Wisconsin 
bill, notwithstanding the pressure of other 
matters. The result was that this bill be- 



came a law during the session, and a 
splendid effort was made by Stephen A. 
Douglas, without success, however, to get 
an Admission bill through at the second 
session of that congress the following 
winter. The Admission bill passed both 
houses, but too late to be sent to the 
president. 

In the course of the proceedings on the 
Enabling bill some interesting points were 
brought out showing the sentiments enter- 
tained by the people of Wisconsin terri- 
tory in reg'ard to admission and what they 
termed their rights in the premises. In- 
teresting reiferences were also made to the 
controlling influences of the celebrated 
ordinance of 1787, passed by congress for 
the government of the Northwest terri- 
tory, of which Wisconsin was a part. But 
the chief difficulty which arose was the 
subject of the boundaries of the proposed 
new state. In fact, history records that 
from the beginning of the work of carving 
out new states from the Northwest terri- 
tory Wisconsin suffered from encroach- 
ments upon her domain at every point of 
the compasi9. It would appear from the 
records of congress in those days that 
representatives from states adjacent to 
Wisconsin had a fear of the new common- 
wealth being too large. Some of the Illi- 
nois representatives were particularly sen- 
sitive on that point as the action of one of 
her members during the debate indicated. 
Illinois had captured a liberal slice off the 
southern section of Wisconsin territory 
when the former state was admitted. The 
boundary line should have been at the 
parallel of lattitude' with the southern 
point of Lake Michigan, and Illinois would 
then have been without a lake port and 
Chicago would be in Wisconsin. 

Passagre of the E]na1tling° Bill. 

It was nearly seven months from the 
time the Enabling bill was introduced in 
the house before it was passed by both 
branches of congress and -signed by the 
president. A large part of his time was 
taken up by consideration of the measure 
in the Committees on Territories of the 
two houses. On May 14, three days after 
war with Mexico was declared, Mr. Doug- 
las from the Committee on Territories re- 
ported the bill from his committee. The 
measure was permitted to rest quietly up- 
on the hou'se calendar during the early and 
exciting days of the war, but on June 8 
it was called up by Mr. Douglas and brief 
remarks were submitted upon it by him. 
The debate on this day was very limited 
and was confined to a few remarks by 
Delegate Martin, by Augustus C. Dodge, 
the delegate from Iowa, and by Represen- 
tative McClelland of Michigan. Little at- 
tention was paid to the measure. Mr. 
Martin asked and obtained unanimous con- 
sent of the house for the adoption of an 
amendment to the bill. The amendment 
struck out a proviso in the measure as 
follows: 

'■Tliat tho state cloth consent to and accept the 
boundaries in the act prescribed." 

It was manifestly the purpose of Mr. 
Martin to have the question of the boun- 
dary of the new state left entirely to the 
decision of the people of Wisconsin, and to 
be passed upon at the constitutional con- 



vention to be called under the provisions 
of the bill. This fact was brought out in 
the debates on the Admission bill in the 
next congress. The members of the house 
did not see the point at the time, the 
amendment slipped through, and by gen- 
eral consent the measure was ordered re- 
ported from ithe Committee of the Whole 
for passage. Then the house adjourned, 
leaving final action on the matter to be 
taken on a later day. 

The measure went oveT until June 10. 
On that day Representative John A. Rock- 
well of Connecticut, who had taken con- 
siderable interest in territorial questions, 
and i>articularly those related to matters 
of education, appeared in the house with 
a determination that the measure should 
be defeated unless the amendment which 
Mr. Martin had secured, relating to the 
boundary, was stricken out. In a short 
speech Mr. Rockwell intimated in pretty 
plain terms that Mr. Martin had smug- 
gled in the amendment. The Connecticut 
representative gave notice that this oould 
not be done. Allen G. Thurman, who sub- 
sequently became a noted leader of the 
Democratic party in the senate, and the 
candidate of that party for the vice-pres- 
idency so recently as 1884, was them a 
member of the house. He made a sbort 
speech endorsing the views expressed by 
Mr. Rockwell. Mr. Thurman said that 
under the bill as amended it would be 
possible for Wisconsin to secure admission 
with boundaries that would give her an 
area of 68,000 square miles. 

Martin Shows Fight. 

The disputed points as to the boundary 
involved the question whether the North- 
west boundary of the new state should be 
on the line of the St. Croix and St. Louis 
rivers, the territory at that time embrac- 
ing the larger part of what is now Min- 
nesota. Another boundary line took in a 
strip of territory off what is now Minne- 
sota, extending to what is known as Rum 
river, which flows from Mille Lacs in the 
northern part of Minnesota southward to 
the Mississippi river. This line would 
have added about 12,000 to 15,000 square 
miles to the area of Wisconsin. This 
point was fully discussed in the debate on 
the Admission bill in the next congress. 

Delegate Martin defended his action in 
offering the amendment, basing it upon 
the provisions of the ordinance of 1787, 
which he showed, provided for five states. 
Four had already been created and only 
one more could be made out of the re- 
maining territory. Mr. Martin said that 
if the bill passed in the manner he had 
suggested, it meant that the consent of 
Wisconsin must be obtained before the 
boundarieis could be changed. The house 
did not believe in the doctrine es- 
poused by Mr. Martin, but agreed with 
the, views expreeeed by Mr. Rockwell and 
Mr. Thurman. A motion to reconsider the 
vote of June 3 was adopted by the large 
majority of 125 to 45. Delegate Martin was 
full of fight, however. On the final 
passage of the bill, with an exhibition 
of feeling, he offered a motion to lay the 
bill on the table. That was a strange 
motion for the Wisconsin delegate to make 



under the circumstances. If carried it 
would have delayed the admission of Wis- 
consin for an indefinite period. It would 
seem, viewed at this distance, that the 
better course for Mr. Martin to have 
pursued would have been to permit the 
bill to pass in that form, and then put in 
his efforts to have the change he desired 
effected in the senate. It is evident that 
the members of the house took this view 
of the matter. They defeated Mr. Martin's 
motion without division, and the bill was 
passed. Thus it was that the first step 
of real progress toward admission was 
made against the protest of the delegated 
representative of Wisconsin on the floor 
of congress. 

The senate lost no time in acting on the 
bill. It went to that body on June 11, amd 
vv'as sent to the Committee on Territories. 
A favorable report was made from th.e com- 
mittee on July 9, by Senator James D. 
Wescott of Florida. On Aug. 5, Mr. Wes- 
cott called up the measure and it passed 
the senate without debate or division. It 
was thus demonstrated that Mr. Martin 
had not been able to prevail upon the sen- 
ate to modify the bill in accordance with 
the amendment which he had proposed in 
the house. On Aug. 6, the measure was 
presented to President Polk who siigned it 
at once, and it became a law. 

Under the provisions of this Enabling act 
the people of Wisconsin proceeded to hold 
a constitutional convention as authorized, 
and choose state oflicials, preparatory to 
admission when congress should pass a 
formal Admission bill. 

A Busy Se.sslon of Congress. 

The Enabling act was passed and signed 
within a week of the adjourumenjt of the 
first session of the Twenty-ninth con- 
gress. After nine months of continuous 
session, and one of the busiest in the his- 
tory of congress, an adjournment was 
reached on Aug. 13. There was no time 
to be lost in getting through the Wiscon- 
sin bill. The record of that session was a 
remarkable one. The low tariff Democrats 
being in control, repealed the protective 
tariff act of 1842, and passed what has 
been designated at "the Walker tariff of 
1846," named for Robert J. Walker, who 
was secretary of the treasury in Mr. 
Polk's administration. It was a remark- 
able piece of legislative work to get 
through such a bill in nine months' ses- 
sion, considering the time that was spent 
in debating the war measures. In addi- 
tion to this, much time was devoted to 
discussing the Oregon boundary question, 
which came near involving this country 
in another war with Great Britain. The 
issue was the line of north latitude at 
which the Oregon boundary should befixed, 
and the watchword of the time among 
the American people, "Fifty-four-forty or 
fight," stirred the patriotic hearts of the 
people. During the session was also de- 
veloped the famous "Wilmot proviso," 
which was attached to an appropriation 
bill. It provided that in the new terri- 
tory, to be purchased of Mexico, slavery 
should be prohibited. As might be ex- 
pected, these questions, many of which 
lie at the foundation of political princi- 



pies and partisan issues even in the pres- 
ent day, produced long and bitter debates. 
The passage of the Tariff bill through the 
senate was effected by a desertion of the 
protection policy on the part of Vice-Pres- 
ident George M. Dallas, who, although a 
Pennsylvanian and elected as a protec- 
tionist, gave the deciding vote on a tie in 
the senate, favoring the passage of the 
bill. Mr. Dallas explained his vote in an 
extended speech from the place of the pre- 
siding officer of the senate. He demon- 
strated that his idea of protection extend- 
ed no farther than that of protecting "in- 
fant industries," as he termed them, and 
did not touch the fundamental principle 
of protection based upon difference in con- 
ditions of production. In these debates, 
Benton, Calhoun, Lewis Cass, Webster and 
John A. Dix were heard in the senate; 
John Quincy Adams, Douglas, Toombs, 
Jefferson Davis and Hannibal Hamlin in 
the house. 

Influences of tlie Ordinance of 1787. 

The fact that the Wisconsin enabling 
act passed during a single session of con- 
gress, and in a time of great controyersy, 
is evidence that the fathers of the re- 
public builded wisely and for the exceed- 
ing great benefit of Wisconsin, when they 
adopted the Ordinance of 1787. If the 
ordinance for the government of the 
Northwest territory had not settled some 
important questions, at least so far as 
that Territory was concerned, it might 
have been more difficult for Wisconsin to 
secure admission. It is possible, also, that 
an effort might have been made by the 
leaders of the dominant party in the pol- 
itics of the country fifty years ago, to 
carry slavery into that Territory against 
the protest of its people. Such efforts 
were made with respect to territory ac- 
quired as the result of the war with Mex- 
ico. 

In the next to the last session of the 
Congress of the Federation, and within 
two years of the adoption of the present 
constitution and government of the United 
States, a vast tract of land was ceded to 
the government by Virginia and Connecti- 
cut. This land comprised what was known 
as the Northwest territory and embraced 
the domain north of the Ohio river, east 
of the Mis.sissippi and the region of the 
Great Lakes. Congress adopted an ordi- 
nance for the government of the territory 
so acquired. That inistrument was, doubt- 
less, the greatest single force in con- 
trolling the destinies of the great states 
of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and 
Wisconsin, which were formed out of that 
territory. The framers of the ordinance 
were fresh from the work of promulgat- 
ing the Declaration of Independence. They 
were meditating deeply upon principles of 
safe republican form of government. This 
furnishes an explanation of the fact that 
the ordinance, adopted before the consti- 
tution, contained so much that is whole- 
some and promotive of good government 
and the freedom of the citizen. 

The framers of the Ordinance of 1787 
were feeling the first effects of liberty and 
the inspiring and ennobling influences of 
self-government in its fullest and best 
sense. It is true that in framing the Ar- 



ticles of Federation they were not success- 
ful in securing a compact and stable gov- 
ernment. But their failure in that respect 
was mainly due to the spirit of state pride 
v/hich controlled the delegates from the 
original states. This prevented harmoni- 
ous action to build up and make strong a 
central government. It was not until the 
patriotic leaders in the several states 
learned by observation, in the first experi- 
ments with self-government, that by unity 
of action in the interests of all the states 
there could be formed a strong central 
government with power to make secure 
republican institutions on this continent. 
Then the present constitution and national 
form of government was established. 

Provision.s of tlie Ordinance. 

Two years before this was done, how- 
ever, the Congress of the Federation tried 
its hand at making a law for the govern- 
ment of a people in the remote Northwest 
territory. That effort was a splendid suc- 
cess. In addition to providing for the se- 
curity and descent of property, and for 
local government through officers chosen 
by congress or by the people, the Ordi- 
nance provided certain articles of com- 
pact between the original states and the 
people of the Territory. The object of 
these articles was stated to be, "For ex- 
tending the fundamental principles of civil 
and religious liberty, which form the basis 
whereon these republics, their laws and 
constitutions are erected; to fix and estab- 
lish these principles as the basis of all 
laws, constitutions and governments which 
forever hereafter shall be formed in the 
said Territory; to provide also for the es- 
tablishments of states, and permanent 
governments therein, and for their admis- 
sion to a share in the federal councils on 
an equal footing with the original states, 
at as early periods as may be consistent 
with the general interest." 

To these ends so well set forth, the 
ordinance provided that, "No person de- 
meaning himself in a peacable and orderly 
manner, shall ever be molested on account 
of his mode of worship or religious senti- 
ments in the said territory." The habeas 
corpus and the right of trial by jury were 
guaranteed to the inhabitants of the terri- 
tory, and the rights of person and prop- 
<=rty were sacredly guarded. This provi- 
sion was also included: "Religion, moral- 
ity and knowledge, being necessary to good 
government and the happiness of mankind, 
schools and the means of education shall 
forever be encouraged." It will be found 
by examination of the Wisconsin enabling 
act that a large tract of land was given 
to the new state in aid of public schools 
and for the site of a state university of 
higher education. 

The section of the Ordinance which con- 
tributed most to keep Wisconsin's admis- 
sion free from the controversies of the 
time is as follows: "There shall be neith- 
er slavery nor involuntary servitude in 
said territory, otherwise than in the pun- 
ishment of crimes whereof the party shall 
have been duly convicted." The latter 
part of this article guaranteed that any 
person from whom labor or service is law- 
fully claimed in one of the original states, 
escaping into the Territory, such fugitive 



might be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed 
to such person claiming his or her service 
or labor." This part of the article was the 
subject of much discussion while the fugi- 
tive elave was under consideration soon 
after the admission of Wisconsin. 

EWort to Pass an Admission Bll>. 

So successiful had the leaders in congress 
been in securing the passage of the en- 
abling act for Wisconsin at the first ses- 
sion, they made a vigorous effort to press 
through an admission bill in the second 
session of the Twenty-ninth congress, in 
the winter of 1846-7. It is not recorded 
in the annals of congress why this steip 
■was not taken by Delegate Martin. He 
had little part in it. The bill for admis- 
sion was prepared in the Committee' on 
Territories of the house and was reported 
direct fro'm that coimmittee. The action 
was delayed until so late a time in the 
session that it was remarkable that its 
passage through both houses was secured. 
It was reported on Feb. 9, 1847, but it was 
not considered by the liouse until Feb. 15. 
Then the debate was very brief. This in- 
dicated that the managers of the measure 
desired tO' press it through and they dis- 
couraged talk upon the subject. In what 
was said some lig'ht was thrown upon the 
sentiments entertained by the political 
leaders of the time on the territorial and 
slavery questions. In a short speech on 
the bill Representative George C. Drom- 
goole of Virginia advocated the doctrine 
that the people of tTie new states should 
be permitted to form their own constitu- 
tions without the aid or hindrance of con- 
gress. It might have been open to sus- 
picion at the time that Mr. Dromgoole, 
being from a slavery section, was putting 
in a word on the Wisconsin bill, to have 
a desired effect on the constitutional ques- 
tions advanced with reference to the terri- 
tories cf California and Oregon and New 
Mexico which were then up for considera- 
tion and into the diiscussion of which was 
injected much that periained to the ques- 
tion of the rights of slavery in those ter- 
ritories. Mr. Rockwell of Connecticut 
again alppe'ared with a proposition with 
reference to Wisconsin. He desired to 
have adopted an amendment giving adili- 
tional public lands to Wisconsin in aid of 
education. He proposed adding the 36th 
section as well as the 16th section in each 
township, to be set apart for support of 
education. An effort to secure the passage 
of the bill disclosed the fact that there was 
not a quorum present and the' house ad- 
journed. On the next day, Feb. 16, the 
hill was taken up, Mr. Rockwell's amend- 
ment was defeated by a vote of 80 to 58, 
and the bill then nassed the house without 
division. 

Only two weeks of the session remained 
when the bill appeared in the senate. 
The measure wai? sent to the Judiciary 
committee to be considered and was fav- 
orably reported on Feb. 20, by Senator 
Chester Ashley of Arkansas. In the press 
of other matters, incident to the closing 
days of the session the bill was left un- 
touched, but on March 2, two days before 
adjournment it was called up in the sen- 
ate by Senator Breese of Illinois and it 



passed without debate or division. It was 
too late for the bill to reach the presi- 
dent for his signature, and it failed to 
become a law. The work of securing 
the passage of an admission bill was left 
to Delegate J. H. Tweedy, who was chosen 
in the election of 1846 to represent the 
Territory in the house in the Thirtieth 
congress. 

Important Features of tlie Wiscon- 
sin Ii^na1)Iingr Act. 

The first section of the Enabling act authorized 
the people of Wisconsin to t'orui a constitution 
and state government for the purpose of being 
admitted into the Union on an equal footing with 
the original states in all respects whatsoever by 
the name of the state of Wisconsin. 

The boundaries were prescriljed beginning with 
the northern comer of the nurtliern line of Illi- 
nois arvd extending up through Lake Michigan. 
Green Bay and through the Menominee river to 
the Mississippi river, and from the Mississippi 
to the mouth of the St. Louis river, thence down 
due south to the main branch of the St. Croix 
river, thence to the Mississippi and through that 
river to the Northwest boundary line of Illinois. 

The jurisdiction of the islands in the Brule and 
Menominee rivers on the northwest boundary of 
the state was given to Wisconsin with the pro- 
vision! .that the boundary so fixed with tlie juris- 
diction of the islands in Wis(<iiisin sIkiuIcI not be 
binding on congress unless it was ratified by the 
state of Michigan by the 1st of June, lb4S. 

The third section covered the question of con- 
cuiTent jurisdiction of the Mississippi river with 
the territory bordering on the west bank of that 
river and provided that the Mississippi and the 
navigable rivers leading into it shall be forever 
free to the inhabitants of Wisconsin as well as 
to all other citizens of the United States without 
any tax. duty or toll. 

The fourth section extended the laws of the 
United States ami constituted the territory to 
be admitted as one judicial district, fixing also 
a District court to he held twice a year, also fix- 
ing the jurisdiction of the judge of such court 
and his compensation at $1,500 a year. 

The fifth section authorized the appointment of 
a district attorney and gave him a salary in ad- 
dition to the fees of $2l>0 a year. Also provided 
for the appointment of a marshal with duties 
the same as in other United States districts with 
fees additional to his annual salary of .$200. 

Section six provided that until another census 
shall be taken the apportionment made In the 
state of Wisconsin shall entitle her to two repre- 
sentatives in the congress of the United States. 

The seventh secli.iu included five subdivisions 
with tlie proviso that the propositions included in 
the sub-divisions arc tO' be submitted to the con- 
stitutional c-onve'tttion called to lie held for the 
purpo.S'e of forming a constitution for the state, 
for acceptance or rejection, and providing that if 
accepted by the convention and ratified by an 
article liu the constitution these provisions should 
be bindinsr on the United States. The first sub-di- 
vision gave to the state each section numbered 
sixteen in every township of the public lands in 
the state for the use of the scli<x)ls. 'I'be second 
sub-division gave to the state the second sec- 
tion of two entire townships of lands .set apart 
for use and support of the university, to be used 
as the legislature might prescribe. The third 
sub-division pix>vide<i sections of land to be se- 
lected and located by the late legislattire are 
granted to the state for the purpose of com- 
pleting the public lands of the state and to take 
the others at the seat of the government. Under 
the fourth sub-division grants of not exceeding 
twelve salt spring.? in the state were made to 
the state for its use, the same to be selected by 
the legislature. The last sub-division provided 
for the payment to the state of 5 per cent, of 
the net proceeds of sales of all public lands ly 
ing within the state which had been sold or 
should be sold from and after the admission of 
the state into the Union after deducting all ex- 
pensies incident to such sale. 'Tihis proposition 
was accomipanied by the provision that the pay- 
ments are offered on the condition that the con- 
stitutional convention shall jirovide by a clause 
in the constitution and irrevocable without the 
consent of the United States that the state shall 
never interfere with the primary disposition of 



the lanrts witliia the state by the United States, 
nor with any regulations congress may tinil 
necessary for securing title to such sale, to a 
bona tide purchaser thereof. And that no taxes 
Shall be imposed on lands the property ot the 
United States, and that in no case shall non- 
resident proprietors pay taxes higher than resi- 
dents. Approved Aug. 6, 1846. 



II. 

On Feb. 21. 1S4S, Delegate Jolin 
H. TT^eedy, Introduced the Bill 
for tlie Admission of the State. 
Sad Incident on the Floor of the 
House on That Day— Efforts of an 
Illinois Representative to Reduce 
the Area of the ]Vew State— Abra- 
ham Lincoln a Member of the 
House — Jefferson Davis and Ste- 
phen A. Doug-las in the Senate. 

Congress has prescribed conditions upon which 
Wisconsin will be admitted into the Union. The 
state has accepted them. Congress should not 
now insist upon other conditions. It would be a 
violation of good faith. The Enabling act had 
been for the admission of "the state of Wis- 
consin, not the territory of Wisconsin." Con- 
gress has, therefore, recognized Wisconsin as a 
sovereign, independent state before her admis- 
sion. The constitution does not compel congress 
to admit new states or new states to enter the 
Union. Wisconsin might remain without and set 
up an independent empire. But it must not be 
expected that 20I>.(XM> people will long remain in 
territorial bondage.— Hon. John Gayle of Ala- 
bama, in the liouse of representatives. May !t, 
1848. 

The bill for the admission of Wisconsin 
was presented in the first session of the 
Thirtieth congreiis by Delegate Tweedy 
from the territory. It was reported from 
the Committee on Territories, and was de- 
bated at some length during sessions in 
May, 1848. 

The visitor from Wisconsin who in- 
dulges in the pleasure of sight-seeing 
around the national capital will not fail 
to see the magnificent piece or statuaiy 
in the old Hall of Representatives, repre- 
senting Marquette, the Jesuit explorer. 
This statue was placed in the hall by the 
people of Wisconsin to commea.orate the 
part taken by Marquette in opening the 
way for white settlements in the reg.ou 
now comprising the state of Wisconsin. 
Standing in front of that statue, as one 
naturally would in order to obtain a goo.l 
view of its beautiful outlines, the atten- 
tion of the visitor is certain to be directed 
to a small bronze shield imbedded in the 
marble floor of the hall. On this shield is 
inscribed: 

! JdllX QUIXCY Al)A.M.-<. * 

: February 21. : 

• ■ 1848. • 

* * 

The tablet commemorates the fact that 
the sixth president of the United States, 
the "Old Man Eloquent," fell in fatal ill- 
ness on that spot on the date mentioned. 
That fact would be even more interesting 
to the Wisconsin reader if he would recall 
that the bill for the admission of Wiscon- 
sin into the Union of states was intro- 
duced in the house on Feb. 21, 1848, with- 



in a few moments of the time John Quincy 
Adams fell. 

When the Thirtieth congress met on 
Dec. 6, 1847, it was with a Whig majority 
in the house and a Democratic majority 
in the senate. Wisconsin territory had 
retired Morgan L.. Martin, the Democratic 
delegate who served in the previous con- 
gress, and sent as delegate to the Thir- 
tieth congress, John H. Tweedy, a Whig. 
Mr. Tweedy was a practicing attorney re- 
siding in Milwaukee. He was a graduate 
of Yale college and a man of scholarly 
attainments, which he exhibited during 
the debates on the Wisconsin admission 
bill. He had been chosen delegate over 
Moses M. Strong, Democrat, by a major- 
ity of about 1,000, in a district which, 
two years before, had given Mr. Martin 
near^ly the same majority over his Whig 
opponent. Mr. Tweedy must have had 
special delight in entering upon the work 
to secure the passage of the admission 
bill in a house composed for the most part 
of representatives of the party to which 
he was allied. It is true that he ob- 
tained no committee assignments, nor 
could he exercise any privileges on the 
floor except to speak on measures which 
attracted his attention. He could talk 
but tie decid.'ng votes were cast by the 
respresentatives on the *loor. He could 
put in his time with perL^opal efforts in 
urfiiig the members of the liouse U> sup- 
port the measures in vv'hich Wiscoasin 
was iiiterested, and he could es:30U;je these 
measures in debate. He showed himself 
eq.i'J I) tlie emergency vvhjn tb( bi.l f.r 
ih'3 admission of the state caiuii up for 
coi.sidt ration. 

A Session Devoted to Politics. 

Mr. Tweedy did not wait for the Com- 
mittee on Territories to make a move 
toward securing the admission of the 
state. Soon after the holiday recess he 
introduced the bill, and from that time 
he pressed it upon the attention of the 
hous£ until it passed that body. 

It is interesting to note that while the 
Wisconsin admission bill was under con- 
sideration in the committee peace was de- 
clared with Mexico. In order to have hii9- 
tory repeat itself within the half cen- 
tury which c:nstitutes the life of the 
commonwealth of Wisconsin, it should 
happen that, ere this year has passed off 
the stage of time, congress should be en- 
gaged with the questions arising from a 
conclusion of peace with Spain as a reisuit 
of the war in which the nation is now 
engaged. Under such conditions, in order 
to make a closer parallel as to events in 
the national arena of politics to those 
which occupied the attention of the coun- 
try fifty years ago, we should soon be en- 
gaged in considering terms as to the ac- 
quisition by the United States of the Phil- 
ippine islands, Porto Rico, and perhaps 
Cuba. Note how the parallel would be 
made. Just fifty years ago last February, 
while Wisconsin admission was pending, 
peace was declared with Mexico and Up- 
per California was ceded to the United 
States and, in the settlement of the ques- 
tions involved, the United States agreed 
to pay Mexico about $1.5,000,000. As a re- 
sult of the difficulties with Mexico, from 



first to last, considering that the annexa- 
tion cif Texas came as a result of these 
differences, although that event preceded 
and in a large degree incited the difficul- 
ties, the United States acquired in the 
Mexican controversy a tract of territory 
greater than Spain and all her present 
dependencies on the globe. It is to be 
hoped, however, that peace may be de- 
clared with Spain during the present 
year, and that congress may be engaged 
in adjusting the questions involved in the 
conquest by the United States of the 
Philippines, Cuba and Porto Rico. 

One effect of the congress of 1S48 being 
divided on political lines was to check 
the contests over the exciting political 
questions of those days. The Thirtieth 
congresis was dull and prosy compared 
with the busy and exciting congress which 
immediately preceded lit. The representa- 
tives and senators in the Thirtieth con- 
gress were much like those of their latter 
day brethren in respect to their disposi- 
tion to take advantage of the period im- 
mediately preceding elecitions to debate, 
on the floors of congress, the issues to be 
considered and passed upon by the people 
in the elections. Hence it was that the 
greater part of the first session of the 
Thirtieth congress was occupied in discus- 
sion of questions related to the campaign 
of that year, which resulted in the elec- 
tion of Zachary Taylor, the "hero of Buena 
Vista." 

In order to complete the compari- 
sons of events in 1848 with events of the 
present day Dewey might be named as a 
presidential candidate on account of his 
victory in the Philippines. Taylor re- 
ceived the thanks of congress for the vic- 
tory of Buena Vista, and that military hero 
of fifty years ago distanced Clay and Web- 
ster, the greatest Whig statesmen of the 
time, in the race for the presidential nom- 
ination. These matters were under dis- 
cussion preliminary to the presidential 
campaign of 1848, and in the midst of the 
political talk in congress the admission 
bill was passed three months before the 
adjournment of the first sessi:n. Although 
little was done during that session com- 
pared with the first session of the Tw^en- 
ty-ninth congress, the session was of the 
same length almost to a day. 

Scenes in Congress in 1S4S. 

There appeared in the house of repre- 
sentatives in the first session of the Thir- 
tieth congress the stalwart Whig froim 
Illinois, Abraham Lincoln. Stephen A. 
Douglas, the great Illinois Democrat, who 
had rendered such excellent service in be- 
half of the passage of the Wisconsin en- 
abling act in the preceding session, had 
been promoted to the senate, where he 
became an active and ahlc' worker for the 
admission of the state. 

The debates in the Thirtieth congress 
were colored to fit the on-coming presi- 
dential electiors. The political parties in 
the country were pretty evenly matched. 
It was apparent that a decisive victory by 
one or the other would mean much at that 
time as an influence in the scale to deter- 
mine whether the South and slavery 
should doiminate the affairs of the nation, 
or whether the anti-slavery people of the 



North should rule the destinies of the re- 
public. A® indicative of the sentiment in 
the South at the time it may be recalled 
that many petitions were presented in 
congress by the representatives from that 
section asking the passage of measures to 
enable the citizens of the slaveholding 
states to recover slaves escaping into free 
stateis. This was the prelude to the con- 
test in the thirty-first congress over the 
fugitive slave law. In the early part of 
the session the conduct of the war with 
Mexico, which came to an end very soon 
thereafter, was discussed, particularly 
with reference to the president's message 
on that eubjcct, which was laid before 
congress at the beginning of the session. 
There was also considerable discussion 
over the question of territorial govern- 
ments to be organized in California and 
New Mexico which were acquired from 
Mexico. On questions of this kind and 
collateral subjects there were many inter- 
esting debates in the house, in which 
Abraham Lincoln participated, and in the 
senate were heard the brilliant speeches 
of Stephen A. Douglas, Jefferson Davis, 
Webster and others. In those debates 
were laid the foundations for the reimark- 
able careers in congress of the statesmen 
of the Civil war period. 

The record made by Abraham Lincoln 
during the Thirtieth congress, which has 
been ligihtly pa.^sed over by historians and 
commentators upon the life of the martyr 
president, was not so mean and inconse- 
quential as has been s") often suggested. 
He participated in the debate®, but it 
would appear from the course he adopted 
in that congresis that he felt that his term 
in congress was rather more of an oppor- 
tunity for him to size up the situation, and 
take the measures of the political leaders 
of the day, than an occasion for preparing 
himself for a career as a legislator. Was 
it not really a preparatory course for Lin- 
coln to fit him for the mighty contest 
which he felt would involve the nation 
which perhaps he could see coming and 
which he felt would involve the nation in 
war? It is probable that already Lincoln 
had in mind the idea of making a race 
againiit Dougla.s for the senate. As evi- 
dence that he was a far-seeing man, even 
in the early days of his wcnderful career 
he had an eye on the presidency. Atten- 
tion was called to that fact during his 
memorable debate with Douglass a dozen 
years later. He put questions to Douglas 
which, as was suggested at the time, if 
answ^ered in the affirmative would elect the 
latter to the senate. Lincoln admitted_that 
he was after bigger game. He said he had 
in mind placing Douglas in such a position 
that the "little giant" would be deserted 
and denounced by the Southern wing of 
the Democratic party and thereby prevent 
him securing the united support of hi® 
party for the presidential nomination in 
1860. Considering the far-seeing shrewd- 
ness of Lincoln immediately preceding the 
war, it is not too much to suppose that he 
spent his time in the Thirtieth congress 
preparing to move the mighty forces at 
the North whom he knew were against the 
continuation of slavery under any condi- 
tions, to say nothing of its extension into 
new territory. 



Appearance of tlie Admission Bill. 

Such were the political conditions in 
congress and in the country when Dele- 
gate Tweedy appeared in the house in De- 
cember, 1847. Mr. Tweedy was assigned to 
seat number 204, on the back row of the 
west side of the chamber, within ten feet 
of where the Marquette statue now stands. 
Abraham Lincoln had seat No. 191, within 
three seats of the Wisconsin delegare. 
John Quincy Adams had seat No. 36, down 
nearer the speaker, out of respect to his 
long service and the fact that he was an 
ex-president. In the house were a num- 
ber of representatives of prominence in 
the councils of both political parties, some 
of whom contributed greatly to making 
the history of the ante-war period. Among 
them were Alex. H. Stephens of Georgia, 
later vice-president of the Confederacy, 
Joshua R. Giddings, the stalwart Ohio 
representative, and Jacob CoUamer of Ver- 
mont, honored by that state with a statue 
in the old hall, in which he rendered such 
conspicuous and able service. Mr. Tweedy 
took up his residence- at Willard's hotel, 
down Peninsylvania avenue, near the treas- 
ury. Among those who lived at the hotel 
were Stephen A. Douglas and Reverdy 
Johnson of war-time prominence and fame. 

On the opening of the session of the 
house, Monday, Feb. 21, nearly three 
months after the Thirtieth congress be- 
gan its session, the attention of the mem- 
bers of the house was directed to a num- 
ber of matters of interest to the people of 
the Northwest. Soon after the house met 
Delegate Tweedy offered a bill to reduce 
the minimum price of certain reserve pub- 
lic lands in the territory of Wisconsin, and 
to grant rights of preemption to settlers 
in the territory. This action gave evidence 
that the delegate was devoting attention 
to matters which would contribute toward 
increasing the population of the territory. 
"L<ong Johrt" Wentworth of Illinois, then 
a member of the house, also exhibited his 
interest in the affairs of Wisconsin terri- 
tory, and in the commerce of the Great 
Lakes, by introducing a resolution direct- 
ing the Committee on Commerce to in- 
quire into the expediency of constructing 
a lighthouse in the channel of Death's 
door, entrance to Green bay. Then Mr. 
Tweedy arose and presented the bill for 
the admission of Wisconsin. 

This action on the part of the delegate 
from Wisconsin occupied the attention of 
the house but a moment, and the members 
proceeded to consider a resolution propos- 
ing the thanks o-f congress to certain of- 
ficers who had served with distinction in 
the Mexican war. Then occurred a scene 
of great excitement the sequel of which 
cast a gloom over the capitol and prevent- 
ed sessions of congress for three or four 
days. There was a controversy lasting a 
few moments over the resolution, and on 
the preliminary votes on the measure it 
was observed that the venerable John 
Quincy Adams had uttered his negative in 
a tone filled with disgust and indigna- 
tion, his face flushed with anger. Mr. 
Adams had been opposed to the Mexican 
war from the beginning, and everything 
connected therewith, and his votes for 
supplies of the army hal been given under 
protest, and he regarded the war as un- 



necessary. The time came, however, for 
the final vote on the resolution of thanks, 
after ordering it to a third reading, which 
vote brought from Mr. Adams an explosive 
and violent negative. Speaker Robert C. 
Wmthrop arose to put the question on the 
final vote. It was observed that Mr. 
Adams was rising as if to speak. He fell 
forward on his desk. A crowd of members 
pressed about him and Representative 
Washington Hunt of New York requested 
the speaker to desist, as did a number of 
members in the vicinity of Mr. Adams, 
who then appeared to be in the agonies of 
death. He was borne out into the rotunda 
for air, and then to the speaker's room, 
where he died two days later. 

Thus the admission of W^isconsin was 
marked by an event which formed a con- 
necting link between the present half of 
the century and the half century which 
preceded the admission of the state. Mr. 
Adams was 81 years old. For fifty years 
he had been in the service of the country, 
being 22 when the constitution was 
adopted. 

Bill Reported From the Committee. 

Mr. Tweedy's TdIII for the admission of 
the state was at once sent to the Commit- 
tee on Territories. The membership of 
that committee was as follows: 
Caleli P.. .Smith of Imliana, chairman. 
riolierl K. Cranston of Kliode Island. 
Howell ('(i.l>l) of Geoi-Kia. 
Julius Rockwell of Massachusetts. 
James Thompson of Pennsylvania. 
Daniel Gott of New York. 
Isaac E. Mor.se of Louisiana. 
Nath.iii Kvans of Ohio. 
Timothy l'illsl)ury of Texas. 
This committee retained the bill until 
April 13, when it was favorably reported 
by Chairman Smith. The measure re- 
mained on the calendar for nearly a 
month before it was given any attention. 
On May 9, notice having been given by 
Chairman Smith of his purpose to- call up 
the bill for consideration, a motion to 
close debate upon it at 2 o'clock was 
made by Alexander H. Stephens of 
Georgia. The house went intc the "Com- 
mittee of the Whole" to consider the Wis- 
consin bill, and Howell Cobb of Georgia 
was chairman and presided during the 
discussion. W^hen the first section of the 
measure had been read, providing that the 
state of Wisconsin "be, and is hereby ad- 
mitted into the Union on an equal footing 
with the original states in all respects 
whatever," Representative Robert Smith 
of Illinois proposed an amendment by add- 
ing at the end of the section the follow- 
ing: 

■'With the boundaries prescribed by the act of 
conjn-ess of .\u,sr. 0, 1840." (The Enablins' act.) 

This action precipitated a lively debate. 
-Accompanying Mr. Smith's amendment 
was a detailed amenilnient, designating the 
proposed boundaries of the new state, 
wherein it was shown that the boundaries 
would not be precisely as they were fixed 
in the Enabling act, but would really cur- 
tail the area of the state by moving east- 
ward several miles the boundaries of the 
state on the northwest line. Mr. Smith 
explained later that it was his purpose to 
curtail the area, pointing out that the St. 
Croix river line, as proposed, would bring 
within the new state persons who did not 



10 



desire to reside in Wisconsin. Thus it will 
be seen that a second attempt was made 
by an Illinois member to reduce the size 
of Wisconsin. Mr. Smith soon discovered 
that he had awakened a pretty lively op- 
position. 

A Missouri representative, James B. 
Bowlin, jumped into the arena and made 
a short speech in which he pointed out 
that the boundary proposed by Mr. Smith 
was neither the boundary fixed by the con- 
etitution of Wisconsin, nor that fixed by 
congress, and Mr. Bowlin said he could 
see no reason for the proposed reduction 
in the size of the new state. He showed 
that the boundary lines provided for in 
the act of congress and as understood by 
the people of Wisconsin in their constitu- 
tional convention, would not make the 
new state disproportionate to other states. 
He said there was nothing he could see 
that would recommend the boundary pro- 
posed by Mr. Smith, whicli, if adopted, 
would create an unnatural boundary, and 
for some time keep Wisconsin out of the 
Union. He said Wisconsin had chosen her 
state officers, on assurance given her by 
congress, and she should not now be re- 
pulsed. 

Mr. Smith was a persistent chap. He 
defended his amendment, and said it 
would obviate the objections that had been 
raised to other lines of boundary that they 
would bring persons within the new state 
who had no interests in common with 
those who lived in the state. He spoke of 
the distance from the St. Croix river to 
the capitol at Madison, which he said was 
about 500 miles. This was a remarkable 
statement as the greatest length of the 
state is only 300 miles. He said it would 
be an injustice to the people of the St. 
Croix valley to compel them to travel eo 
gieat a distance to get to the seat of state 
government. 

Amos Tuck, a representative from New 
Hampshire, where they can stand on the 
stone fences and look across to the boun- 
dary lines of their state, proposed to take 
a tuck in the size of Wisconsin by leav- 
ing out the St. Croix valley. He said if 
the proposition were agreed to by congress 
the Wisconsin convention could conform 
to it in a few weeks and no great incon- 
venience would result. A cheerful chap 
was Tuck. 

Mr. T^veedy Makes a Speech. 

One can imagine, even at the distance 
oif fifty years, how the proposition by Mr. 
Tuck must have struck Delegate Tweedy 
He at cnce took the floor, and it was ap- 
parent that he was indignant. He ex- 
pressed surprise that such an amendment 
was offered. He said the house had 
no right to entertain an amendment that 
was insulting to the dignity of Wisconsin. 
He went over the terms of the Ordinance 
of 1787, and said that an attempt was being 
made to vary the boundaries as intended 
to be covered by that Ordinance. If the 
territorial limits were now to be changed 
it must be done by common agreement be- 
tween the United States and Wisconsin. 
Two years before congress had passed an 
act proposing a 'boundary line for Wis- 
ooneiu preparatory to admission, and to 



this the state had acceded. The compact 
was complete. Wisconsin had complied 
with the terms and was now ready to 
be admitted. She had a population of 
more than three times the required num- 
ber, and she had anticipated no obstacles 
to her admission. He asserted that not- 
withstanding thf objections raised by Mr. 
Smith of Illinois the terms of the latter's 
amendment would not be accepted by the 
people of Wisconsin.. 

An Ohio representative, Samuel P. Vin- 
ton, was captured by the logic of Mr. 
Tweedy, and he made an argument in 
favor of the St. Croix river boundary 
line. Wisconsin had assented "to it and 
in good faith congress was bound to stand 
by the agreement made in the enabling 
act. He said his personal impression was 
that a line further east would be more 
preferable, but this could not be done 
without a violation of public faith. The 
people of Wisconsin, although favoring a 
boundary further north and west, had ex- 
pressed a willingness to abide by the St. 
Croix line, and it was now too late for 
congress to go back on its own proposi- 
tion. Mr. Vinton commended what Mr. 
Tweedy had said respecting the terms of 
the Ordinance of 1787. That ordinance had 
provided that when there were 60,000 
souls in one of the territories erected in 
the Northwest it had a right to become a 
state on equal terms with the other 
states. Congress had no right to reject 
Wisconsin. 

A speech w"as then made by Representa- 
tive James Wilson of New Hampshire. 
He immediately demonstrated^ that he was 
not built upon the same contracted plan 
as his colleague Tuck. He gave evidence 
of an intimate knowledge of the geogriphy 
of the Northwest and the interests of that 
locality. He said the house was familiar 
with the terms of the Ordinance of 1787. 
The provision as to the line -drawn due 
East and West from the Southern ex- 
terminty of Lake Michigan had been dis- 
regarded. He called attention to the 
grab that had been made by the states of 
Illinois and Indiana in extending their 
areas by m.oving their northern boundaries 
far above the line mentioned. After show- 
ing that three boundary lines had been 
donsidered for Wisconsin he insisted that 
the line which had been assented to by 
the people of the proposed state in their 
convention was the best. He described 
the different sections of the territory in 
point of fertility of the soil and said the 
greatest fertility was found along the im- 
mediate boundaries of the streams. He 
dwelt upon the excellence of the country 
and the capacity of the Mississippi valley 
to maintain a dense population. Mr. 
Wilson insisted that the line agreed to 
by the people of Wisconsin would avoid 
separating the people residing in the St. 
Croix valley. 

R. M. McLane, a representative from 
Maryland also opposed the boundary sug- 
gested by Mr. Smith and said that the 
people of Wisconsin had favored the Rum 
river boundary, but from fear of further 
delay in securing admission had con- 
cluded not to insist upon it. In answer 
to a direct question Mr. Tweedy said the 
people of Wisconsin would prefer the 



boundary North and West of tne St. 
Croix, and that he preferred that line 
but would take the one offered by tlie 
Dill a® the next best thing. Mr. McLane 
■went on to urge that the St. Croix was 
the best river in Wisconsin, that it 
watered a fertile country, and should be 
retained. 

Short speeches were made by William 
Sawyer, representative from Ohio and 
John Gayle of Alabama. Mr. Gayle was 
an enthusiastic defender of the rights of 
Wisconsin in the premises. He said the 
United States had not violated faith with 
Texas and should not do so with Wiscon- 
sin. Texas had demanded the recognition 
of the Rio Grande as her Southwestern 
boundary, and congress had rejected her 
on that account. Texas eufesequently 
agreed to leave that question open to ne- 
gotiation and congress had received the 
state. Congress should live up to the 
conditions it bad made for Wisconsin. 

Tlie Persistent Mr. Suiitli of Illinois. 

Rtprosentative Smith was a good fighter 
for a bad cause. One would think that 
from the manner in which his amendment 
had been kicked and batted about the 
arena of the house by every member who 
had spoken on the subject, he would 
have yielded. He would not do iso. He 
made a lengthy speech in advocacy of the 
change he proposed. He admitted that 
under the Ordinance of 1787, Wisconsin 
had a right to come into the Union as a 
whole, taking in the vast tract west of 
the St. Croix, if congress would not 
take the state with the boundaries pro- 
posed. Wisconsin contained 90,000 square 
miles. The line he proposed would give 
47,000 square miles, while that proposed 
by the bill would give nearly 60,000. Mr. 
Smith said that would make a state larger 
than Ohio. Mr. Smith went after Dele- 
gate Tweedy with some warm oratorical 
shot. He said Mr. Tweedy had admitted 
that as a delegate in the state convention 
he would have advocated the southerly 
line, but as a delegate on the floor of the 
house he had favored the most northerly 
boundary. He admired the devotion of 
the delegate to the wishes of his constitu- 
enti3. It was carrying out the doctrine of 
iDisrtructions which was a proper course 
to pursue. Smith contended that congress 
bad a right to fix the boundary and he had 
no doubt Wisconsin would accept it rather 
than be forced in as a state of unwieldly 
dimensions. The Illinois member waxed 
warmer as he proceeded, and he showed 
that he had some facts up his sleeve which 
evidently came from objecting delegates 
in the state constitutional convention. He 
presented a minority report which he said 
had been offered by a Mr. Brownell from 
the St. Croix region, in the convention, 
opposing the St. Croix boundary. Mr. 
Smith accepted this as showing the in- 
justice of fixing that line. Dealing with 
the speech made by Mr. McLane ol Mary- 
land the Illinois member made a warm 
retort. He asserted that McLane had ad- 
vocated the remote line \n the interests of 
capitalists at the falls of the St. Croix 
river. Smith said he chose to consider 



the interests of the masses of the people, 
rather than the capitalists at the Flails. 
He insisted that he had too long shown 
devotion to the interests of Wisconsin for 
anyone to doubt his friendship for that 
state. 

Failed to Take Final Action. 

The last speaker of the day on the bill 
was J. W. Houston, a representative from 
Delaware. He insiisted upon the line that 
had been agreed to by Wisconsin being 
adopted. He was willing to receive the 
state entire if the people of Wisconsin 
wished it so. At all events be was willing 
to accede to the wishes of the people of 
Wisconsin and thought they were best 
qualified to judge what would promote 
their own interests. 

The debate had consumed the greater 
part oif the day. Mr. Smith bad given no 
indication of withdrawing his amendment, 
and the house adjourned without com- 
pleting the measure or taking final ac- 
tion upon it. On the following day it was 
taken up and the debate which resulted 
invaded the whole realm of territorial 
questions touching the public lands, in- 
ternal improvememts and aid to popular 
education. Indeed, it was manifest th,at 
the house was not busy during that ses- 
sion with pressing public questions. Both 
houses of the preceding congress had 
passed a Wisconsin admission bill with 
almost no debate, but now the subject 
engaged the attention of the leading 
membero of the house, and they made 
lengthy speeches upon it. 

How much like the house of repre- 
sentatives of to-day was that popular 
branch of congress half a century ago. 
Sometimes devoting bours and days to 
debate of questions over which there is, 
little division of opinion or controversy, 
and at other times rushing through the 
most important measures without detoate. 
It depends on the time at the disposal of 
the houise, and somewhat on the mood of 
the leaders. These factors evidently con- 
trolled in the house a half century ago. 



III. 

The Wisconsin Admission Bill Is 
Eixliaustively Debated in tlie House 
of Representatives on May lO, 
18-lS — Questions as to Boundary, 
and Grants of Public Lands to the 
Coninion^vealtli in Aid of Canal 
Iniitroveinents Discussed — Speecli 
by Abrnliani Lincoln on the Gen- 
eral Subject of tlie Disposal of 
Public Lands in Aid of Public Ini^ 
provenients in the States — Admis- 
sion Bill Passes the House — Ste- 
phen A. Donslas Reports the Meas> 
nre in the Senate— It Passes That 
Body Without Debate or Amend- 



ment — President Polk Affixes His 

Signature on May 20, 1848. 

They (tbe people of Wisconsin) planted them- 
selves upon the ordinance of 1787. * * They 
come not as a Britisli province suing at the foot 
of the throne for the privilege of self-government. 
If they come into the Union at all they will come 
into it on a footing of perfect equality with the 
other states. Wisconsin must come in as a sis- 
ter or not at all. On tliis iioint men., of all par- 
tics were as one: every soul in the state was of 
one mind.— Delegate John 11. Tweedy of Wliscon- 
sin, in the House of Representatives May 10. 
1S4S. 

The debate in the house of representa- 
tives on the Wisconsin Admission bill was 
concluded on May 11, 1848. It went 
to the senate where it was passed 
without debate or division on May 19. The 
bill was presented to President James K. 
Folic on May 29, and was signed by the 
executive on that day. 

When the house met on May 10, 1848, 
after the disposition of some minor busi- 
ness Representative Smith of Indiana, on 
behalf of the Committee on Territories, 
called Uip the Wi.gconsin Admission bill, 
and Mr. Cobb of Georgia again took the 
chair while the measure was considered in 
committee of the whole. Mr. Cobb stated 
that the question first to be determined 
was the amendment proposed by Mr. 
Smith of Illinois relating to the bounda- 
ries of the state. 

The debate that followed took in the 
whole range of questions affecting the re- 
lations of the general government to the 
new states coming into the union, and the 
subject of the disposition of the public 
lands in aid of education in the new 
states, or to encourage internal improve- 
ments. The great political parties of the 
time were divided on the question of gov- 
ernmental participation in the prosecution 
of improvements to facilitate commerce. 
The Democratic platform of 1840 had de- 
clared that under the constitution of the 
United States the government was not au- 
thorized to carry on a system of internal 
improvements. The people of the West 
and Northwest were greatly interested in 
this question. Federal aid in the wor^k of 
building up a system of canals and the 
improvement of harbors on the great lakes 
and streams which, with improvement, 
could be made navigable, was of the ut- 
most importance in the upbuilding of the 
West. Railroad transportation was in its 
infancy. Twenty years before the admis- 
sion of Wisconsin the first railway train 
was moved in the United States. Travel 
between the East and the West was a 
serious problem. The transportation of 
goods was by the slow means of wagon 
train. Writing of the condition of trade 
and travel and industry in 1848 Judge 
Tourgee once said: 

The time of which we write was near the wak- 
ing from a long slumber. The canal which 
stretches from' lake to river (Erie canal) was still 
the main avenue of transit eastward and west- 
ward. Beyond that the steamer and tlie stage 
coach held sway. The grosser products of the 
West eonsumed tliemselves liefore the.v reached 
tlie lOastiMii mnrki't.'i. TIu' cattle and swine 
stretched away in ciidli'ss droves' aeros.s tho stales 
lying eastward of tlie Mississippi river. The sus- 



tentation of tliese while on the way to the East- 
ern markets enriched the farmers along the route 
more than those who reared the drove. Cheese 
sold at the ports of Lake Erie tlien at 3 cents a 
liouud. That very year (184S) tens of thousands 
of fat sheep were slaughtered in Ohio for the 
hides and tallow — only the hams and tongues lie- 
ing saved for food. Tlie West was open — kuown 
to be full of iwssibilities. It teemed with food, 
but yet was poor. The Bast was at its zenith. 
Every industry was quick. Labor was ia abund- 
ance and yet in demand. Wages were low and so 
were supiilies. The land was a bursting hive, a 
magazine of possibilities. We were still a nation 
of handworkers. There was not a mower or har- 
vester in existence. The telegraph had begun In 
Washington aiid ended at New York twelve 
iiKiutlis before. The land was lighted by candles 
afti-r niglitfall. The spinning wheel and shuttle 
s(]uuded in e\'ery farmer's house. Butter was lai- 
marketable 10t> miles from the dairy. The steam 
saw mill had .inst begua to devour the forest. 
From Eiast to West was the pilgrimage of a lite: 
from North to South a voyage of discovery. A 
day's journey was a serious matter. The canvas 
covered wagon was the ark of trade. Tlie saddle 
was the emblem of speed. Men slept yet in their 
beds. The day began with the dawn, and not 
with the train's arrival. The turnpike was still 
the great artery of trade. The highways were 
dusty and populous. There was time to live. 
IJrawu and lirain went hand in hand. Every life 
touched nature. Like Auteus we felt the earth 
bi'iieath our feet and were strong. We had vau- 
iliiished nature and sat by the Indus of time 
weeping for other world's to conquer. 

Men and parties were shifting their po- 
sitions on this question of internal im- 
provements. The people of Wisconsin ter- 
ritory during the period from 1836 to 1848 
must have watched with keen interest the 
changes in popular opinion on this ques- 
tion throughout the nation. It was a mat- 
ter of great moment to the settlers in the 
new territory. The people of the state 
who now see a dozen swift-flying railway 
trains come and go by their doors every 
day, to whom a journey across the state 
or across the continent is a matter of but 
a few hours, find it difficult to under- 
stand why so much attention was paid to 
the question of improving canals and wa- 
terways during<fthe time when Wisconsin 
was knocking for admittance at the door 
of the nation. The canal projects in the 
new state meant much to its people. They 
had asked aid from the general govern- 
ment to carry out a project for the Rock 
River canal and for the canal to connect 
the Mississippi river with the Great lakes 
by way of the Pox and Wisconsin rivers. 
They wanted an outlet for their produce 
to the markets of the more populous sec- 
tions of the country. This explains the 
land grants in the enabling act and in the 
admission bill in aid of these canal proj- 
ects in the new state. It was upon such 
disposition of the public lands that the 
leaders of the house, during the debate on 
the admission bill made lengthy speeches. 

Wisconsin and National Imiirove- 
nients. 

A majority of the people in Wisconsin, 
when the territorial government was 
formed in 1836, were advocates of the prin- 
ciples of the Democratic party. They 
wanted internal improvements to aid in 
developing their territory which they ex- 
pected soon would be a state. It must 
have been especially gratifying to those 
people to pin their faith to the pledges of 
the national Democratic party made in 'its 
platform in 1832 which contained this reso- 
lution: "That a uniform system c\ inter- 



nal improvements, sustained and supported 
by the general government, is calculated 
to secure, in the highest degree, the 
strength and permanency of the republic." 
Adhering to this declaration of a policy 
that was expected to contribute so much 
to the upbuilding of their section of the 
country, it must have been rather dis- 
couraging to the people of Wisconsin terri- 
tory when the Democratic party in 1840 
adopted a platform containing this plank: 
"That the constitution does not confer 
upon the general government the power to 
commence and carry on a general system 
of internal improvements." The latter 
declaration was made just ae the people 
of Wisconsin were appealing for aid in the 
construction of their canals. It was to 
this subject as embraced in the admission 
bill, touching the grant of public lands to 
the state, and the prices to be asked for 
such lands, that the house of representa- 
tives directec" its attention of May 10. 

Representadve Dickinson of Ohio opened 
the debate with a speech on the boundary 
question. He recounted o'bjections which 
had been raised to the various boundary 
lines proposed, and to the claim made by 
\he people '-esiding in the St. Croix valley 
that they would be put to inconvenience 
by being included within the boundary of 
Wisconsin. He said this was a point of 
some weight, but was always an objection 
that would be largely exaggerated in a 
new country. He spoke of similar incon- 
veniences which had been mentioned in 
the case ;f Ohio when that state was ad- 
mitted, forty years before. He insisted 
that Wisconsin had the same power to 
prescribe her boundaries that congress 
had, and if congress did not agree to the 
boundaries it would be willing to allow 
Wisconsin to remain a territory. But Wis- 
consin was no longer a territory. She had 
formed a state constitution, and made all 
preparations for coming into the Union as 
a state. Suppose congress did not con- 
firm the boundary line proposed by the 
sitate, but insisted upon a new one, which 
Wisconsin would refuse to accept, by what 
laws would she then be governed? She 
would have a state government and yet 
not be within the Union. Would she be 
governed by state laws, or by the laws of 
the territory? He favored the line agreed 
to by the state. He suggested that pos- 
sibly the states of Illinois, Indiana and 
Ohio were all too large. When the Ordi- 
nance of 1787 was adopted the constitution 
had not been framed, and at that time it 
was (Observed that difficulties surrounded 
the system of dett collection and of regu- 
lating commerce in the territories. Now 
under the territorial laws Wisconsin had a 
right to collect taxes. She was equipped 
to enter the Union and Mr. Dickinson sail 
the adtnission bill should be accepted 
without amendment, and the boundary 
line which had been proposed in 1S46 
should be assented to by congress. He 
hoped the bill would be agreed to as Wis- 
consin wished. 

Thus the admission bill was given a 
very good start in the day's deibate, and 
the amendment of the irrepressible Smith 
of Illinois was in a fair way to be knocked 
out. 



Tbe Qaestioii ot riaua urauTs. 

At this juncture one of the most dis- 
tinguished representatives on the floor en- 
tered the debate. This was Jacob Collamer 
of Vermont, who was chairman of the 
Committee on Public Lands of the house. 
Judge Collamer was already an eminent 
man in public affairs. He had been judge 
of the Supreme court of Vermont and had 
already served three terms in the house. 
Later he was elected to the senate, and 
then was appointed postmaster-general by 
President Taylor in 1849. Mr. Collamer 
might have something of importance to 
say respecting the admission bill. He said 
that on account of the time limit on the 
debate he would say nothing about the 
point under discussion relating to the 
boundaries of the state. He addressed him- 
self to the second and third sections of the 
bill relating to the land grants to the state 
in aid of canal improvements. He said if 
these sections were stricken out Wiscon- 
sin could be admitted as well as if they 
were retained. The sections mentioned re- 
lated to grants of land in the state made 
in 1838 to aid in the construction of the 
canal connecting Lake Michigan with 
Rock river. The proposition for the grant 
had failed and the project had been given 
up. In the meanwhile, however, some of 
the reserved sections of the land in ques- 
tion had been sold at $2.50 an acre. The 
state had asked to be permitted to locate 
500,000 acres of land allowed her by con- 
gress on a part of these reserved sections. 
As the canal project had been abandoned 
and the lands were subject to entry, he 
had no objection to the request made by 
the state. Judge Collamer then took a shot 
at the Fox and Wisconsin canal enter- 
prise, which was just appearing as an is- 
sue in the political affairs of the time. 
He spoke of the conditions of the grant of 
1846 in aid of the project for establishing 
a continuous water course between the 
great lakes and the Mississippi. The Wis- 
consin constitutional convention had asked 
that the grant be permitted to stand, and 
that congress lower the price of the re- 
served sections of the grant to $1.25 an 
acre. To this he would not agree. It was 
going a little too far, and to this point he 
felt it his duty to call the attention of the 
house. He thought a dangerous precedent 
would be established if the government 
should acquiesce in this request. 

Mr. Collamer entered into a general dis- 
cussion of the canal systems that had 
been established in New York, Indiana 
and Ohio, and the plan that had been 
adopted by congress in granting lands in 
aid of these enterprises. He insisted that 
the moment congress assented to the fifth 
resolution of the Wisconsin convention, it 
took a step which would cause a loss to 
the government in respect to its public 
domain. He also objected to the resolu- 
tion because nothing had been done on 
the Fox and Wisconsin canal. He asked 
that the fifth resolution be stricken out, 
but added that the remainder of the bill 
he was willing to leave undisturbed. 

Another Friend of Wisconsin. 

A reply was made to Judge Collamer's 
speech by a Louisiana representative, 
Isaac E. Moirse, who was a member of the 



14 



Committee on the Territories. Mr. Morse 
discussed very fully the question of aid 
to canal improvements in the different 
states. He believed that the grant made 
to the Ues Moines river improvement in 
Iowa was important, and that it had been 
right to make such a grant to Iowa. He 
wanted to know if a canal improvement 
in Wisconsin was not equally important. 
Why should not Wisconsin obtain a grant 
upon the same terms? Mr. Morse said he 
regarded the requested reduction in the 
price of the reserved sections as an act of 
sheer justice to Wisconsin, and it came 
with particularly good grace from that 
state, as she had agreed to accept this 
grant as part of the 500,000 acres due her. 

Judge Collamer replied in a lengthy 
speech, covering much the same ground 
he had gone over in his first speech. Aft- 
er Mr. Morse made a rejoinder, a run- 
ning debate was participated in by Messrs. 
Collamer and Morse and Representative 
John A. McClernand of Illinois. The lat- 
ter gave evidence that he had no sympa- 
thy with the scheme of his colleague 
Smith, to further reduce the area of Wis- 
consin and delay her admission. 

At this point Repre-entative Rockwell 
of Connecticut, who, it will be remember- 
ed, participated in the debate on the en- 
abling act in the previous congress, ap- 
peared in the discussion. He still had 
with him his scheme for additional aid to 
education in Wisconsin, which had been de- 
feated when the enabling act was pending. 
He offered it again as an amendment to 
the admission 'bill. He said he was more 
in favor of liberality toward Wisconsin 
because of the splendid course of the 
state in regard to public lands, which had 
been liberal in the highest degree. He 
wanted to give the Thirty-sixth section of 
land in each township of the state as 
additional aid to education. He thought 
all the new states should have more liberal 
grants for this purpose. 

Delegate T-»vee«ly on Admission and 
the Canal Grants. 

At this point Delegate Tweedy of Wis- 
consin secured the floor. He discussed at 
considerable length the general question 
of admission and the points raised by 
Judge Collamer. Mr. Tweedy said he 
would not spend much time on the bound- 
ary amendment; he had said all he cared 
to say on that subject the previous day. 
He insisted, however, that it must be 
apparent to everyone that congress had no 
right to impose upon Wisconsin the 
boundary line proposed by Mr. Smith or 
Illinois, and make that a condition of ad- 
mission. Mr. Tweedy said he knew well 
the sentiment of his people at home on 
that question. He had in the state con- 
vention been in favor of the southerly 
line, but he would now vote against that. 
Wisconsin would never come as a beggar 
at the door of congress asking for what 
was her right. Her people would place 
themselves in no such attitude. Mr. 
Tweedy said that he, and those who w^ere 
associated with him, had labored with the 
people of the state day and night to in- 
duce them to consent to the boundary 
proposed by congress in the act of 1846. 



rne utmost difficulty had been experienced 
in holding back his friends who were in- 
sisting upon the rights of the state. They 
had planted themselves upon the ordi- 
nance of 1787. They came not as a people 
suing at the foot of a throne for self-gov- 
ernment. If they came into the union at 
all it would be upon terms of equality 
with the other states. It was vain for 
gentlemen to try to bring them in upon 
any other terms. As to the two northerly 
lines the house might take its choice. The 
people of Wisconsin favored the Rum 
river as their boundary, but if the St. 
Croix was fixed upon as the boundary they 
were ready to acquiesce. He added that 
he had been instructed to favor the more 
northerly boundary, and he believed it 
would oarry in the house. 

Mr. Tweedy took up the points raised 
by Judge Collamer. He did not pretend to 
say whether congress had established the 
doctrine of the inviolability of precedent 
or not. He had heard of no such decision. 
But he did know that if there was a case 
that could claim the repeal of such a de- 
cision, both on the grounds of justice and 
liberality, this was that case. He called 
attention to the fact that on the very same 
day that congress had granted these alter- 
nate sections of land to Wisconsin for 
canal improvements, the body had granted 
to Iowa a strip of land In alternate sec- 
tions on each side of the Des Moines river, 
four hundred miles in length, for a work 
lying wholly within the limits of a state, 
and which was in no sens^e national. 

Congress had not given Wisconsin a 
cent, was the next point raised by Mr. 
Tweedy, and the lands which had been 
given were clogged with a condition from 
which Iowa was free. If Wisconsin had 
enjoyed a 5 per cent, rebate on lands sold, 
her population had long been sufficient to 
insure admission, and she would have re- 
ceived far more from land sales than had 
been paid to her territorial government. 
The delegate discussed the grants of lands 
to states in aid of canals. It was the duty 
of congress to grant alternate sections to 
aid such improvememts. This rule ap- 
plied to railroads or canals passing 
through a part of the public domain. 
When such canal or road passed through 
a region partly settled, the reservation of 
alternate sections operated as a robbery 
of the settlers in compelling them to pay 
double for the lands which they had al- 
ready improved. The effect was to keep 
off every immigrant for ten miles around 
the proposed course of the canal. They 
were afraid to make improvements for 
fear that when the alternate sections came 
to be reserved their houses would fall 
within the sections reserved by the gov- 
ernment and they would be compelled to 
pay double the price that had been pail 
by their neighbors. That was the situa- 
tion in Wisconsin. The people were wait- 
ing and on that account a part of the 
country remained unsettled. 

This was a strong point made by the 
Wisconsin delegate, and it had a good 
effect upon the house, as was demon- 
strated by the results when the time came 
for voting on the amendments. Whatever 
desire there might have been among the 
members from the older states to econo- 



mize iu the matter of public lands, and 
whatever the disposition of the leading 
men of the time with respect to the policy 
of government encouragement of internal 
improvements, they evinced a sincere de- 
sire to see the West populated, and that 
every encouragement should be given to 
immigration as a means of settling the 
wilderness of the West. 

A Good AVoril From Illinois. 

When the Wisconsin delegate resumed 
his seat a friend of Wisconsin admission 
appeared in the person of an Illinois rep- 
resentative, John A. McClernand. He hit 
the proposition made by his colleague, 
the obstreperous Smith, a hard blow. He 
did not agree with Smith that the Wita- 
consin boundary at the Northwest section 
should be moved further eastward. Mr. 
MoClernand said he was in favor of the St. 
Croix river boundary. That line had been 
fixed by congress and accepted by the peo- 
ple of the state. The attention of the pub- 
lic had been called to that boundary and 
the people were prepared to receive it as 
the settled line. The faith of congress 
was pledged to it. He should, therefore, 
vote against the Rum river, or extreme 
western boundary proposed, which bad 
been recommended alternately by the peo- 
ple of Wisconsin, and also against the 
amendment proposed by his colleague, Mr. 
Smith. Mr. McClernand discussed fully 
the relations of the new states to the gov- 
ernment and questions of internal im- 
provements and land grants. 

Caleb B. Smith of Indiana, chairman of 
the Territories committee, here took the 
floor and spoke in a general way against 
the amendment of Illinois Smith. He said 
he had no objection to the various propo- 
sitions pending for changing the bounda- 
ries of the state, and he would be willing 
to assent to the change suggested by 
Delegate Tweedy. The committee had 
recommended the St. Croix boundary in 
preference to that at Rum river, but as 
far as he was concerned he could see no 
reason for th'^ change, and was willing 
that Wisconsin should have the larger 
area if it wae wanted. Mr. Smth advo- 
cated granting the land in aid of canal 
improvement. 

It became apparent to the Illinois Smith 
that he had suggested an unpopular 
scheme, and he offered an amendment ma- 
teiially changing his proposition, and 
making it conform nore nearly to that 
suggested by the committee. Then Mr. 
Tweedy put in his bid for the larger slice 
of the territory which later became a 
part of Minnesota. He offered it in the 
following form: 

"The change of boundary proposed in the 
second article of the said convention, to- 
wit: leaving the boundary line as pre- 
scribed in the act of congress entitled, etc., 
(the enabling act) from the foot of the St. 
Louis Rapids, thence in a direct line bear- 
ing southwesterly to the mouth of the 
Ikodewaba or Rum river where the same 
empties into the Mississippi river, thence 
down the main line of said river as pre- 
scribed in that act." 

Mr. Tweedy said this amendment was of- 
fered as a substitute for that offered by 



the committee, and was intended to fix 
the Rum river as the northwestern bound- 
ary instead of the St. Croix. He said it 
had been recommended by the Wisconsin 
convention after mature deliberation and 
therefore he was bound to advocate it. 
The reason the people of Wisconsin desired 
this line, Mr. Tweedy frankly avowed, was 
because they desired the additional terri- 
tory, and because they believed it would 
be more convenient and more judicious to 
bring all the people residing in the St. 
Croix valley within the state. Another 
reason was the advantages which were to 
be derived from steamboat navigation on 
those upper rivers. 

The Delegate's Plan Defeateil. 

The house could not see it in that way. 
They rejected Mr. Tweedy's amemdment. 
He had counted on being able to carry it 
through, but on the test vote it was beaten 
by such a vociferous outburst of "noes," 
that the Wisconsin delegate did not h^ve 
the hardihood to ask a division of the 
house to make a record on the question. 
Posisbly he had visions of being able to fix 
the matter in the senate. Thus the possi- 
bility that within Wisconsin there should 
be built the magnificent cities of St. Paul 
and Minneapolis was defeated by cutting 
off that section of the new state and leav- 
ing it to become a part of Minnesota. It 
will be understood from these notes of the 
debate what a narrow escape Wisconsin 
had from being the greatest state in all 
respects in the broad region of the North- 
west. This certainly would have been the 
result had not Illinois, thirty years before 
the Wisconsin admission proposition was 
pending, ■jcooped in the splendid strip of 
territory skirting the borders of the lower 
part of Lake Michigan and embracing the 
present site of Chicago. 

The debate was now practically ended, 
and the committee proceeded to vote on 
the amendment. At the suggestion of Mr. 
Collamer some changes were made in the 
section relating to the land,° granted to 
the state in aid of the Fox and Wisconsin 
improvement. A suggestion by Mr. 
Tweedy relating to the lands to be given 
to the Rock river canal improvement was 
also agreed to. The committee amend- 
ments relating to the boundary, modified 
in an unimportant manner by the last 
changes suggested by Mr. Smith of Illinois, 
N>/ere adopted. 

Then came up Mr. Rockwell's amend- 
ment relating to a more liberal grant of 
lands to the state in the aid of education. 
Mr. Vinton of Ohio objected strenuously 
to this scheme. He wanted to know why 
this liberality should be exercised in re- 
spect to Wisconsin and denied to Illinois, 
Indiana, Ohio and the other states. It was 
a grave question and should not be acted 
upon without a report from a committee. 
The amendment was ruled out, and thus 
the school lands of the state were con- 
fined to the sixteenth section of each town- 
ship. After agreeing to two or three sec- 
tions of the bill the house at a late hour 
adjourned without completing action upon 
the admission bill. 

On Thursday, May 11, the admission bill 
was taken up for final consideration. Hap- 



pily the members had talked themselves 
out on the previous day, so the measure 
went through without further debate. Im- 
mediately after the journal was read 
Speaker Winthrop announced that the 
next business was the Wisconsin Admis- 
sion bill. A number of minor amendments 
of the Territories committee were agreed 
to, and also one touching the phraseology 
of the bill offered by Mr. Tweedy. The bill 
was then ordered to a third reading, read 
the third time and passed. 

A Speeeli l»y Abraliani Lincoln. 

Delegate Tweedy must have been some- 
what surprised at this juncture to ob- 
serve the tall form of Abraham Lincoiu 
unfolding itself, and when the more than 
six feet of the gaunt Illinoisan was erect, 
to hear from Lincoln a motion to recon- 
sider the bill. Unless Mr. Tweedy had a 
perfect understanding with his Whig 
friend, Lincoln, he must have thought O'^ 
another flank movement against the bill 
from Illinois. Mr. Lincoln was not long 
in making his purpose known. He said 
he had made the motion to reconsider in 
order to give an opportunity for him to 
say a few words upon some questions that 
had been brought out in the course of the 
debate by Judge Collamer. Mr. Lincoln 
called attention to some remarks that had 
been made by Mr. Collamer, whose sug- 
gestions respecting public lands were en- 
titled to great weight, he being chairman 
of the Committee on Public Lands, in re- 
spect to the reserved sections in grants in 
aid of public improvements in Wisconsin 
and elsewhere being enhanced in value, 
and should be reduced to the minimum 
price of the public lands. The question of 
the reduction in value, Mr. Lincoln said, 
was a matter of indifference to him. He 
was inclined to think that Wisconsin 
would be pleased to have the price so 'e- 
duced. He would not make a special ar- 
gument in favor of Wisconsin, but he be- 
lieved in the general policy of giving the 
alternate sections of land and enhancing 
the reserved sections. He cited an in- 
stance in Illinois where this policy had 
worked to advantage. 

Mr. Lincoln indicated pretty plainly 
that he favored the internal improvement 
projects and the grants of land in aid of 
such enterprises. He attacked some of 
the statements made by Judge Collamer 
and asserted that they were unsound. He 
spoke of the Vermont statesman's remark 
that the government was interested in the 
internal improvements as they increased 
the value of the land unsold, and would 
also enable the government to sell lands 
which otherwise would remain unsold. Al- 
though this policy gave a gain to the 
country in the way of the internal im- 
provements, as well as in land sales, and 
thus the people derived substantial good 
therefrom, it might be that the lands 
should not be sold for more than $1.25, 
instead of $2.50 an acre. Mr. Lincoln said, 
however, that he had merely mentioned 
this point in passing, and that he had 
risen simply to state that the policy of 
giving these lands for the purposes indi- 
cated had been favorably considered. There 
were some gentlemen who had constitu- 



tional scruples against voting money for 
these purposes, but would not hesitate to 
vote land. He wanted to say that he was 
not one who made war against that policy. 
Having ma'de this statement, which was 
tinged with irony directed at those who 
weighed their constitutional scruples so 
finely that they could agree to vote away 
the pufblic domain in aid of internal im- 
provements, but would not agree to vote 
funds from the treasury for that purpose, 
Mr. Lincoln withdrew his motion to re- 
consider the vote by which the admission 
bill was passed, and the bill went to the 
senate for final action. 

A«1uii8sion Bill Becomes a La-^v. 

The senate devoted no time to debating 
the Admission bill. On Friday, May 12, a 
message was sent to that body from the 
house that the latter branch had passed 
the bill for the admission of Wisconsin. 
Senator Stephen A. Douglas, chairman of 
the Committee on Territories, arose and 
moved that the bill be committed to that 
committee for consideration. The Commit- 
tee on Territories was composed of the fol- 
lowing senators: 

Stephoa A. 'Douglas of Illinois, chairman. 

Jesse D. Brlg'ht of Indiana. 

J. M. Clayton of Delaware. 

A. P. Butler of Sonth Carolina. 

John D'avis of Massaclnisetts. 

No time was lost in securing action in 
the committee. Four days later, on Tues- 
day, May 16, Senator Douglas reported the 
bill without amendment and recommended 
its passage. On Friday, May 19, Jesse D. 
Bright, a senator from Indiana, and also 
a member of the Committee on Terri- 
toriesi, called up the measure in the sen- 
ate. It was ordered to a. third reading, 
read the third time and passed without 
debate, amendment or division. Some de- 
lay was caused by inaction of the Com- 
mittee on Engrossed Bills, and failure to 
secure the signatures of the speaker and 
the vice-president to the measure, but on 
May 29 the Admission bill was sent to 
Presiident Polk, who promptly aifixed his 
signature to it, and Wisconsin was a state 
of the American Union. The notification 
that the president had signed the bill was 
made in both houses of congress on May 
30 by the president's secretary, Mr. J. 
Knox Walker. 

The services of Delegate John H. Twee- 
dy in congress were at an end. He had the 
honor to secure the passage of the Admis- 
sion bill, after a long and spirited debate 
over the question. He now retired, and 
the senators and representatives chosen by 
the new state made their appearance with- 
in a few days and took their seats in 
congress. 

Synopsis of tlie Admission Act. 

Whereas, the people of the territory of Wis- 
consin (lid on the 10th of February, 1848, hy 
convention O'f delegates, call and assemiWed for 
the purjMise of forming for themselves a con- 
stitution and state government, whic'h said con- 
stitution is ratified: and said convention having 
askiMl the admission of said teiTitory into the 
Union as a state upon an equal footing with the 
original states. 

Be it enacted by the senate and hotise of 
representatives In congress assembled: 

That the state of Wisconsin he and is hereby 
admitted to be one of the United Statea of 



America, is hereby admitted into the Union on 
an equal footling with the original states in all 
respects w-hatever with the boundaries pre- 
scribed by the act of congress approved Aug. 6, 
1846, entitled an act to enable the people of 
Wisconsin territory rto form a constitution and 
staite government and for the admission of sucii 
state into the Union, 

Section 2 gave the assent of congress, the first, 
second, foumtlh and fifth resolutions adopted by 
the Constitutional conveuCion and the acts of 
congress ratified in the resolution were amended 
so that the lands granted by the provisions of 
the several acts ratified shall be held by the 
state and disposed of in a manner and for tbe 
purposes recommended by the convention. Also 
that the lands reserved to the United States by 
the act to grant a quantity of land in aid of the 
Fox and Wisconsin river improvements and for 
the canal between Lake Michigan and Rocli iver 
shall be offered for sale at the same minimum 
price subject to the same rates for preemption as 
other public lands of the United States, It was 
also provided for certain preemption rights with 
reference to these lands. 

Section third relates to the purchase of lauds 
at the price of Jf2.50 and ,$1.25 un<ler conditions 
prescribed. Section fourth provided that the judge 
of the District court shall hold a term of court 
at Madison on the first Monday of December and 
another term in Milwaukee on the first Monday 
in January. Provisions were also made for spe- 
cial terms of court to hear and decide cases of 
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction. The fifth 
section provided for transmission by <-'oe clerks 
of the District court records of unsatisfied .1udg- 
ments. The sixth section provided that the clerk 
of the .Supreme court of tlie territory of Wiscon- 
sin shall deliver over to the court of tbe United 
States District courts all records and papers re- 
lating to bankruptcy under the Bankrupt law. 
The last section of the act provided that from 
and after the 4th day of March, 1848, and imlil 
another census and icppo- tKmm.ent shall be made, 
the state of Wisconsin shall be entitled to !hri e 
representatives ;n the congress of tlie Uiiited 
States. 



IV. 

Appejirniit'e of Senators Dodge and 
\%'allcer in the Senate, and Rei»re- 
sentatives Lynde sind Darling in 
the House in the Closing Part ot 
the First Session of the Thirtieth 
Congress — The Historic Senate 
Chamber in Which the First Wis- 
consin Senators Sat— Political Is- 
sues and Leaders of the Time. 
Senator Walker and the Slavery 
Issue — Gen. Dodge's Connection 
With the Exciting Personal En- 
counter Between Senators Benton 
and Foote — Mr. Lynde's First 
Speech— Mr. Darling and the Joke 
on Horace Greeley— Notes on the 
First Wisconsin Congressional 
Delegation. 

Tliere was a state without kings or nobles; 
• there was a peoi)le gyiverned bv grave mag- 
istrates which it had selected and by equal laws 
which rt nad framed.— Riifus Ohoate. 

Senators and representatives from tlie 
new state of Wisconsin appeared in con- 
gress in May and June, 1848, Tliey were 
assigned seats and places on committees. 
They participated in the legislation of the 
latter part of the first session, and in the 
second session of the Thirtieth congress, 
which ended March 3, 1849. 



Wisconsin was now one of the states 
of the federal Union. Her people were 
prompt in sending their senators and rep- 
resentative© to congress. Under the pro- 
visions of the enabling act elections had 
been held in the territory during the 
spring of 1848. Before the admission bill 
passed congress, at an election held May 
8, representatives in congress had been 
chosen. The First district sent William 
Pitt Lynde of Milwaukee, and the Second 
district sent Mason C. Darling of Fond du 
Lac. The election of senators by the legis- 
lature followed on June 8, and the first 
congressional delegation from the new 
state was ready to take places in the halls 
of national legislation. 

Political Issues in 18-AS. 

From this time Wisconsin took a promi- 
nent part in the determination of public 
questions in which the entire country was 
interested. The people of the state early 
gave evidence that they had drunk deep 
at the fountain of liberty, which had been 
established in the territory under the Or- 
dinance of 1787. They were earnest and 
uncompromising advocates of the equality 
of all mem before the law, and of the full- 
est civil and religious liberty. A people 
entertaining such sentiments must have 
been restlessi under the already rapidly 
growing power of the slave-holding aris- 
tocracy of the South. Evidence of this un^ 
easiness is furnished in the resolutions 
which were passed by the legislature of 
the state in the earliest period of the new 
relations to the general government. Res- 
olutions against the extension of slavery, 
and for the fullest freedom for the pro- 
posed territorial governments in other 
sections of the country, were frequently 
sent to the Wisconsin senators and repre- 
sentatives for their guidance in represent- 
ing the people of the state in a legisla- 
tive capacity. Thesie expressions of the 
state constituted a note of warning, little 
heeded, however, to the Southern leaders 
in congress, that slavery was doomed to 
destruction. In resolutions of this charac- 
ter from Wisconsin and other states, to- 
gether with the speeches and votes in con- 
gress from the date of the admission of 
Wisconsin down to the Civil war, are to 
be found many side-lights upon the po- 
litical history of those momentous times, 
and a correct reflex of the sentiments 
which actuated the people of the state in 
the early part of the great slavery contest. 
Resolutions from the legislatures of the 
Southern states, presented in congress by 
senators and representatives from that 
section, afforded an equally correct reflex 
of the popular opinion in the South that 
slavery must not be interfered with, and 
must be permitted to enter into all new 
territory, or a break between the sections 
of the country would result. The exten- 
sion of silavery into the territories was the 
chief topic under discussion during the 
first congress in which a delegation from 
Wisconsin served. For reasons already 
explained in connection with the account 
of the Ordinance of 1787, this subject di.i 



not come forward to vex the people of 
Wisconsin when they applied to co-ngress 
for admission. Following the question of 
slavery in the territories, came that of 
the Fugitive Slave law. In this act the 
doctrine was asserted that owners of 
slaves who fled from their homes had the 
constitutional right to pursue slaves even 
into free territory, and to reclaim and 
convey such slaves to the homes of the 
masiters. This question touched the lib- 
erty-loving people of the Northwest on a 
tender spot. They had no desire to see 
their fair land pointed by the foot of the 
slave catcher. But, according to a sec- 
tion of the old ordinance, such right of 
capture of runaway slaves in the North- 
west territory had been granted by con- 
gress. The people of the Northwest states, 
or many of them, rebelled against such an 
idea as abhorrent to liberty and Chris- 
tianity. These people had broken from 
the fetters of the old ordinance and had 
created free states, with constitutional 
forms of government guaranteeing free- 
dom and the stability of republican insti- 
tutions. In the light of their history it ;s 
not surprising that the Northwestern peo- 
ple re'belled against the doctrine of slav- 
ery. 

■Wisconsin Representatives Arrive. 

The representatives from Wisconsin, 
l-aving been first elected, were first to ap- 
pear in Washington. Mr. Lynde arrived 
on Monday, June 5, presented himself at 
the bar of the house and was sworn in. 
He was assigned to seat No. 220, on the 
Democratic eide near the central aisle. 
Near his seat sat the distinguished Penn- 
sylvanian, David Wilmot, whose memora- 
ble "proviso," had so conspicuous a part 
in the history of the time. On Friday, 
June 9, Mr. Darling arrived, was sworn in 
as a member of the house and was ais- 
(Signed to seat No. 229. This seat was in 
the row back of that in which Mr. Lynde 
sat, and just across the aisle from Mr. 
Darling sat Abraham Lincoln, the only 
Whig representative in that house from 
Illinois. Among the Democratic leaders 
in the house who occupied seats near 
Lynde and Darling were Howell Cobb, 
who became speaker of the house in the 
next congress, and Jacob Thompson of 
Mississippi. The Wisconsin members 
were soon assigned to service on commit- 
tees of the house, Mr. Lynde going on the 
Committee on Revolutionary Claims, and 
Mr. Darling on Private Land Claims. It 
is interesting to note the fact that of the 
nearly twenty members of the two com- 
mittees in that congress only one name has 
survived in history, to be recognized by 
the average student of American political 
literature. That single exception is An- 
drew Johnson, who was a member of the 
Committee on Private Land Claims with 
Mr. Darling. Messrs. Lynde and Darling 
were classed as good lawyers and men of 
high standing in their home communities, 
but they were not active participants in 
the debates or legislation pending before 
congress during the few weeks that re- 
mained of the session. They introduced 
a number of bills and resolutions in which 
their Wisconsin constituents were inter- 
ested, but spent their time familiarizing 



themselves with their new surroundings 
and duties. 

The measures of a local character of- 
fered by the Wisconsin members related 
mainly to questions affecting the public 
lands and internal improvements in the 
state. River and harbor projects were 
claiming the attention of Wisconsin peo- 
ple and they sent a number of petitions 
asking congress to appropriate money to 
improve harbors on Lake Michigan and to 
provide harbor lights and otherwise bet- 
ter the facilities for transportation and 
commerce on the lakes. As evidence that 
they were also noting with interest mat- 
ters pending in congress of a general 
character, it is observed that Mr. Lynde 
presented a petition from citizens of the 
state asking congress to purchase Mount 
Vernon, the home of George Washington. 
Like petitions of the present day, the on<3 
presented by Mr. Lynde appears not to 
have been very effective. One may imag- 
ine that it was speedily lost in some dust- 
covered pigeon-hole of a congressional 
committee room. At all events congress 
has not purchased Mount Vernon up to 
this time, and the petition has had fifty 
years in which to accomplish the mission 
upon which it was sent by the petitioners. 

Resolntions From tlie State. 

Wisconsin people also took a deep in- 
terest in the graver public questiouo of 
rbe time. Very soon after taking his seat 
Mr. Darling presented in the homse a reso- 
lution of the legislature of Wisconsin 
against the extension of slavery into tlie 
territories, and asking that in the organic 
act of any new territory to be created 
slavery be prohibited. The legislature 
started in bright and early to keep a close 
watch of the actions of the state's repre- 
vsentatives and senators, and it was not 
long before the attitude of Senator Walker 
on the slavery question called from the 
legislature a protesting resolution. About 
three weeks later Representative Darling 
received and offered in the house another 
document of similar import. This was a 
resolution which had been adopted by the 
legislature. 

"Instructing their senators and request- 
ing their representatives to use their ef- 
forts for the prohibition of slavery in any 
new territory already acquired, or here- 
after acquired, in which slavery does not 
now exist except for crime." 

It will be observed thvat the law-making 
body of the new «?tate in framing the 
resolution, considered with nicety and 
care the point that has been raised re- 
specting the representative functions of 
senators and members of the popular 
branch of congress. It appears already to 
have reached the lawmakers of Wiscon- 
sin, what was pointed out in the early 
debates on the constitutional functions of 
the legislative branch of congress, that 
the .senators are delegated from the state, 
that they represent the sovereign power 
of the commonwealth, and as such dele- 
gates, may be instructed by the legisla- 
tures; wtoereas, on the other hand, the 
representatives are sent direct by the peo- 
ple, and are answerable only to the peo- 
ple of their respective districts. It will 



1)8 recalled, however, that in several in- 
stances 'before and since Wisconsin had 
senators in congress, and twice in the 
cases of Wisconsin senators, Walker and 
Doclittle, have senators declined to obey 
the requests of legislatures of their states 
that they resign. In some of these in- 
stances senators have declined to heed 
expressions of severe cenrure passed by the 
legislatures of their respective states. 

Mr. liincoln in tlie Thirtietli Con- 

It is often remarked that a member 
should be seen and not heard during his 
first term of service in the house. This 
alleged rule is brought into service for the 
purpose of protecting from criticism many 
representatives during their first terms 
when, possibly, if the truth were plainly 
told, it frequently happens they do not, 
•even in three or four terms, take a front 
rank in debates or in influence upon legis- 
lation. 

It has been often charged that Abraham 
Lincoln did not make a striking success 
during his single term in the house in the 
Thirtieth congress. It is doubtful that 
Messrs. Lynde and Darling had that opin- 
ion of the Illinois man. A glance over his 
record as disclosed by the annals of con- 
gress, will impress the impartial observer 
that Mr. Lincoln gave evidences of pos- 
sessing elements of strength and ability 
of a high order, even at that early period 
in his wonderful career. This is true al- 
though he was then comparatively a young 
man and certainly a novice in the field of 
constructive statesmanship. Mr. Lincoln 
was not silent during his first and ouiy 
term in congress. He participated in a 
num'ber of important debates. His utter- 
ances at that early time in his life would 
not rank well with the great speeches and 
state papers which he gave to the countiy 
ten years later, and through the Civil rar 
period. But he was far from being a dis- 
interested observer of the momentous 
events and scenes arjund him. He m:iJe 
at least three speeches worthy of note 
Juring the first session of his term. H- 
was a member of the Committee on Porft- 
oflices. His first speech was a lengthy 
discussion of the subject of mail trans- 
portation by rail and otherwise, especially 
by rail, which form of transportation was 
then coming into general use. In that; 
speech Mr. Lincoln exhibited a wide 
knowledge of public affairs, and a fund 
of valuable information as to the condi- 
tions of trade and transportation through- 
out the country. When the message of 
President Polk was presented to congress 
early in the session, giving an account of 
the progress of the existing war with 
Mexico, Mr. Lincoln discussed, in a gen- 
eral speech on the message, the conduct of 
the war. He spoke with discrimination 
and elaborateness on the issues involved 
in the contest as well as those which had 
let up to it. Mr. Lincoln also spoke upon 
the Wisconsin Admission bill and the gen - 
eral question of internal improvement's 
aided by public land grants or by direct 
appropriations from the treasury. Cer- 
tainly that was not a discre.litable record 
for a new member. Reminiscences have 



come down to us of the stories told by 
Lincoln enlivening the cloak rooms and 
old house postoffice adjoining the hall of 
representatives. Those who are familiar 
with the historic points of interest around 
the capitol are ready to point out the fire 
place, in the present document room which 
was the postoffice of the house a half cen- 
tury ago, beside which Lincoln sat while 
capturing his colleagues with his quaint 
humor and droll anecdotes. Running 
through the reports of his speeches are to 
be found evidences cf his power and tact 
in driving home a point by the force of 
his irresistible humor. But Lincoln as a 
representative in congress was forgotten 
in the glory which surrounds his name as 
the emancipator and martyr president. The 
success of Lincoln in the broader fields of 
statemanship obscured what would have 
stood as a creditable service as a legis- 
lator, and would have given him a high 
rank had he chosen to return to congress 
after 1848. 

Stephen A. Douglas was near the zenith 
of his fame at this period. He was a 
powerful man in the house during the 
great debates over important public ques- 
tions in the Twenty-ninth congress, and 
it was not surprising that Illinois sent him 
to the senate in the Thirtieth congress. 
The senate recognized the rank which Mr. 
Douglas had acquired in public life, by 
making him chairman of the then very 
important Committee on Territories. That 
ccmmittee had charge of the debates, 
which ran through a large part of three 
congresses, relating to the question of ex- 
tending slavery into the new territories. 

Mr. Ijjiide'!!! Fir.st Speecli. 

It was not until the second session that 
Representative Lynde made his first 
spetch in the house. On Jan. 18, 1849, the 
house had under consideration an appro- 
priation bill. Mr. Mullin, a representative 
from New York proposed an amendment 
for paying the expenses of the "terri- 
torial government of Wisconsin." This 
must have sounded to some persons at the 
time as a joke. Indeed, the house treat- 
ed it with some exhibitions of hilarity. 
What was Wisconsin territory? Wiscon- 
sin had been changed from a territory to 
be a state. Yet here was a proposition to 
pay $10,500 a year for support of the 
territorial government of Wisconsin. It 
was disclosed in the debate that when 
Wisconsin came in as a state there was 
left a large part of the former territory 
by that name lying west of the St. Croix 
river. This section of country was left 
without a government after the state was 
created. There was considerable debate 
over the anomalous situation thus pre- 
sented. Mr. Lynde did not consider the 
matter a joke. He made a speech in 
which he explained the situation, giving a 
history of the creation of Wisconsin ter- 
ritory and the admission of the state. He 
maintained that the territory of Wiscon- 
sin was not invalidated by the admission 
act. He said that in the previous ses- 
sion he and his colleague, and the senators 
from Wisconsin, had addressed a letter 
to the secretary of the interior in regard 
to the remaining part of the territory. 



He recognized the existence of the re- 
mainder of the territory and could see 
no reason why It should not be provided 
with a government. The amendment was 
rejected. It was plain that congress could 
not be coaxed into having a Wisconsin 
territory in addition to a Wisconsin state. 
The difflculty was arranged later in the 
session by the passage of an act creating 
the territory of Minnesota, which took in 
the section of old Wisconsin territory that 
had been left out in the cold when Wis- 
consin was admitted. 

Darling' mid tlie •Iok:e on Horace 
Greeley. 

Mr. Darling wm& modest also. He re- 
frained from speaking on the floor untii 
late in the second session. Then he made 
a short speech, on an unimportant subject, 
but an amusing one, an incident in 
the early public career of Horace Greeley. 
The great journalist had been elected to 
the house from New York city for the 
second session of the Thirtieth congress, 
to fill a vacancy caused by the death of 
the member originally chosen. Soon after 
Greeley's appearance in the house a meas- 
ure was brought up which had some ele- 
ments of the "salary grab" of later days. 
It provided for the purchase out of 'he 
public funds of a number of historical 
books which were to be given to senators 
and represen'tatives. It appears that Mr. 
Greeley was opposed to this grab game, but 
his opposition was not known until after 
the house had passed the bill. The editoi-- 
representative was engaged in sending edi- 
torials and correspondence to his New 
York Tribune from Washington. He took 
occasion in his correspondence to criticise 
very sharply the action of the house in 
passing the book grab. When The Tribune 
containing the article arrived in Washing- 
ton a few days later, a member who ap- 
pears to have kept watch of Mr. Greeley's 
attitude toward the measure, addressed the 
house and had the article read from the 
clerk's desk. He named four members who 
had heard Mr. Greeley i^peak approvingly 
of the action of the house in voting for the 
books, and justifying the expenditure. The 
member also stated that on some of the 
rising votes taken on the question Mr. 
Greeley had supported motions for carry- 
ing out the book purchase scheme. Among 
those mentioned as cognizant of Mr. 
Greeley's friendly attitude toward the bill 
before its passage was Mr. Darling of Wis- 
consin. Three of the members mentioned 
by name were called upon and explained 
what they heard Greeley say on the sub- 
ject while the bill was pending. Then 
from all parts of the house there were loud 
cries of: 

"Darling, Darling, let us hear Darling." 
Mr. Darling arose and in a short speech 
stated that he had overheard remarks by 
Mr. Greeley to members indicating that 
the editor-member favored the book pur- 
chase. Mr. Darling's speech was of a 
humorous character and the house en- 
joyed it, especially as Mr. Greeley gave 
evidence of being much annoyed and 
chagrined by the predicament in which 
he was placed. The incident made it 
hotter for him for a few moments 



than one of Tom Nast's cartoons did 
thirty years later. He explained in 
a satisfactory manner what he had 
said in the hearing of the members, but 
his explanation of his votes on the bill 
at different stages was not so satisfactory. 
It would be better understood by those of 
to-day w^ho have a recollection of the 
great editor, his childish ways and his 
abstracted moods. He presumed he had 
been busy at his desk, and supposed he 
was following the leadership of the chair- 
man of the committee in the rising votes, 
believing that the chairman was opposed 
to the bill. The house laughed at Mr. 
Greeley's explanation and the incident was 
cloised. 

First Wiseonsin Senators Seated. 

The Wisconsin senators, Henry Dodge 
and Isaac P. Walker, arrived in Washing- 
ton soon after their election by the legis- 
lature in June, 1848. Senator Dodge en- 
tered the senate on June 23. The day be- 
fore he had been nominated for vice- 
president iby the Free Soil Democratic 
convention held in Utica, New York, with. 
Martin Van Buren as the head of the ticket. 
The nomination must have been made 
while Senator Dodge was on his way, by 
the slow means of conveyance then in. 
use, from Wisconsin to the capital. In 
these days a man with a senatorship in 
hii9 hand and the vice-presidency in the 
bush, would be a curiosity around the 
capitol, and he would be looked up to as 
one of the lions of the hour. It is evi- 
dent that Gen. Dodge regarded the vice- 
presidency as much too remotely in the 
bush, for he declined it, and Charles 
Francis Adams was nominated. The re- 
sult of the election justified the action on 
Dodge's part. The votes for the Van 
Buren ticket were counted in the "scat- 
tering" column. 

The credentials of Gen. Dodge were pre- 
sented by Senator Benton of Missouri, his 
friend of many years' standing. Their 
close relations continued in congress an I 
resulted in an interesting participation by 
Dodge in the exciting personal encounler 
between Benton and Poote of Mississippi. 
"Old Bullion" Benton took the arm of 
Dodge when the latter stood up before th.? 
presiding officer of the senate and took 
the oath of office. On June 26 Senator 
Dodge performed a like service for his 
colleague, Mr. Walker. Under the rule 
which prevails in the senate of deciding 
by lot the length of the respective terms 
of senators from new states, a lot was cast 
to determine into which class the sen- 
ators from Wisconsin should fall. Dodge 
being an old Indian fighter probably out- 
generaled his colleague, for he drew the 
long term, to expire March 3. 1851, while 
Mr. Walker's term was fixed to close on 
March 2, 1849. 

In the Old Senate Chamber. 

It must have been an interesting ex- 
perience for Messrs. Dodge and Walker to 
take seats in the senate, the first senators 
from Wisconsin. They were in a sacred 
presence. The senate chamber was then 
the comparatively small room now occu- 
pied -by the United States Supreme court. 



in the old north wing of the capitol. What 
scenes and incidents have been witnessed 
in that room. We of modern times think 
of it as the place where the great Elec- 
toral commission met in 1877, after the 
Hayes-Tilden election contest. Fifty years 
ago it was doutotlesis thought of as the 
place where the greatest debate of Amer- 
ican political history was held, the trial 
of the oratorical giants of the North and 
the South, Webster and Hayne. That took 
place in 1830, when the "Great Expound- 
er" was in the strength and vigor of his 
young manhood. He was still in the sen- 
ate in 1848, although eighteen years had 
elapsed since he made the speech which 
electrified the continent and fixed his 
name secure in history as the greatest 
orator of America, if not of the age. In 
this chamber Jefferson had taken the oath 
and delivered his speech to congress as 
the third president of the republic. In 
this chamber was ratified the treaty which 
gave to the country the Louisiana pur- 
chase, and brought a vast domain to the 
republic. Here was received the message 
of James Monroe, declaring the "Monroe 
doctrine." These events were recent mem- 
ories in the old senate chamber when Wis- 
consin's first senators appeared in that 
body. They remained long enough in the 
senate witness other events which have 
■left in the associations of the old senate 
chamber hallowed memories. They heard 
in 1850 the second farewell address of 
Henry Clay. They heard John C. Calhoun 
bid farewell to the senate in 1850, and in 
the same year witnessed the funeral of 
that greatest leader the South ever had. 
They heard the "Compromise" speech of 
Daniel Webster on that memorable July 
17, 1850, when the mighty man retired 
from the senate to take the state portfolio 
in the cabinet of Millard Fillmore. From 
the attitude Senator Walker had occupied 
on the territorial questions of that day, it 
is susipected that he, at least, did not ap- 
preciate, as did the great body of cue 
American people, what a loss that speech 
caused Webster in the affections of the 
liberty-loving people of the North. . 

Lieaflers in the Senate in 1848. 

The Wisconsin senators found them- 
selves among the greatest men in the po- 
litical arenas of the country. In the as- 
signment of seats. No. 51 fell to Mr. 
Dodge, and No. 52 to Mr. Walker. These 
seats were on the front row of the stuffy 
little senate chamber. It appears to have 
been the custom in that time to give new 
senators the front seats. Nowadays they 
get back seats. In the old chamber, doubt- 
less, the front seats were lees desirable. 
The seats taken by Messrs. Dodge and 
Walker would correspond to those occu- 
pied by Senators Vest and Cockrell of 
Missouri in the present senate. Two seats 
back from Dodge, and on the aisle, sat 
Benton, and to the right of Benton sat 
Jefferson Davis. Back of Mr. Walker sat 
John C. Calhoun, then closing a long and 
brilliant career. Across the aisle sat 
Webster, and three seate from him sat 
Hannibal Hamlin. John A. Dix of New 
York, the brilliant Tom Corwin of Ken- 



tucky and Douglas of Illinois, were among 
the leaders in the senate. 

In the committee assignments Senator 
Dodge was given places on the Commit- 
tees on Militia and Pensions, and Senator 
Waliker became chairman of the Commit- 
tee to Control and Audit the Contingent 
Expenses of the Senate. Together with 
Senators Breese of Illinois and Borland of 
Arkansas Gen. Dodge took up his resi- 
dence at Willards, while Mr. Walker re- 
sided at Brown's hotel on the avenue 
where also resided Senators Sam Houston 
and T. J. Rusk of Texas. 

Enrly Wisconsin Bills. 

The first session of the Thirtieth con- 
gress adjourned on Aug. 14, about sixty 
days after the Wisconsin senators entered 
the senate. There was little time for them 
to become familiar with their new duties, 
and they took little part in the proceed- 
ingi9 until the session of the following 
winter. They introduced a number of 
local bills and resolutions, the latter being 
of similar import to those introduced by 
the Wisconsin members. On July 18 Mr. 
Walker introduced a bill to amend the 
seventh section of the enabling act, under 
which Wisconsin was prepared for admis- 
sion, making some changes in the dispo- 
eition of the public lands under the act. 
Mr. Walker went after this legislation 
with considerable vigor. The bill was 
promptly reported and passed the senate 
on July 29. Mr. Walker also introduced 
a bill granting to Wisconsin the site of 
the old military reservation at Fort Win- 
nebago. As an indication of the political 
sentiment in the state at the time, _and 
the course adopted to give expression to 
that eentiment, Mr. Walker offered, on 
July 31, a resolution of the Wisconsin leg- 
islature laudatory of the Polk administra- 
tion. Senator Dodge intrcduced only one 
bill, a private measure for the relief of 
John P. B. Gratiot. 

Four days before the adjournment of the 
first session Mr. Walker participated in a 
debate of considerable importance on the 
Oregon territorial question. The debate 
was conducted by Webster, Douglas, Cal- 
houn, Foote and Jefferson Davis. Mr. 
Walker's speech was a short one, but it 
wa« vigorous and patriotic. 

The event of most consequence in which 
the Wisconsin senators participated during 
the first session was voting on the ques- 
tion of extending the terms of the "Mis- 
souri compromise" through to the Pacific 
coast. This came up on the Oregon Ter- 
ritorial bill, and the vote was taken two 
days before adjournment. Messrs. Dodge 
and Walker voted for the extension and 
it passed the senate in spite of the bitter 
protests of the Southern senators. The 
purpose of this compromise policy was to 
exclude slavery north of a given line ot 
latitude extending to the Pacific. 

Senator "Walker and Slavery. 

In the short session of the Thirtieth 
congress little business was transacted of 
direct interest to the people of Wisconsin. 
A River and Harbor bill was passed by the 
Whig house, but it failed to go through 



the senate, notwithstanding the brilliant 
Henry Clay made the greatest fight of his 
life as a legislator in the interests of the 
bill. The house also passed a bill for ter- 
ritorial governmente in California and 
New Mexico, with the "Wilmot proviso" 
attached, prohibiting slavery in the terri- 
tories. The senate rejected the proposition 
and the contest in both houses was very 
bitter. On most of the votes taken on 
these (luestione, in their various stages of 
progress, the Wisconsin senators voted 
in opposition to the wishes of their Demo- 
cratic colleagues from the Southern states, 
but some votes cast by Senator Walker 
gave evidence of a disposition on his part 
to compromise disputed questions by 
making liberal concessions to the slavery 
advocates. This was particularly notice- 
able in connection with the debate which 
followed the offering of an amendment by 
Mr. Walker to an Appropriation bill at 
this session. The purport of the scheme 
was "to extend the constitution and laws 
of the United States over the territories." 
This provoked a spirited debate, and Mr. 
Walker soon discovered that he v/as out 
in very deep water. So plain was this 
that on Feb. 24, he offered to withdraw^ the 
amendment, but it was so popular with 
the Southern senators that he was notified 
by Senator Mason of Virginia, that if the 
amendment were withdrawn he would re- 
new it, that the senate mu.3t vote on the 
quesition. The object of the Southern sen- 
ators was to force a vote for the moral 
effect there would be in a delcaration by 
the senate that the constitution was bind- 
ing law in the acquired territory of the 
country. They maintained that the new 
territory was a part of the United States; 
that the constitution upheld slavery and 
that if the constitution was recognized as 
binding upon the territories slavery could 
not be excluded therefrom. On the day 
Mr. Walker offered to withdraw his 
amendment Senator William L. Dayton, a 
Whig of New Jersey, made a vigorous 
speech against the amendment. He op- 
posed it because it would give the South 
an advantage in the slavery controversy. 
The Southern people claimed that the con- 
stitution gave their people the right to 
carry islaves into the territories and make 
it a slave country. Dayton denounced 
such a proposition. 

Mr. Walker made an extended speech, 
the purport of which may be gleaned from 
the following brief extract: 

"But, sir, I say before this senate and be- 
fore high heaven, that I feel myself incap- 
able of entertaining such feelings as are 
expressed by the senator from New Jersey. 
If the constitution will extend slavery to 
the new land, let it go. If by that consti- 
tution slavery is extended, I am willing 
to stand by that constitution. I am un- 
willing to withdraw from our Southern 
brethren any of the rights given to them 
by that sacred instrument." 

It was such sentiments, and Mr. Walk- 
er's vote on this and kindred questions, 
that impelled the legislature of Wisconsin 
to pass a resolution directing him to re- 
sign. He did not obey the injunction. 



Mr. Webster Speak.s. 

The position taken by the Whigs and 
anti-slavery men was, of course, squarely 
against the amendment. Mr. Webster at- 
tacked it on constitutional grounds. He 
followed Mr. Walker with a speech in 
wihch he said, among other things: 

"It is important that we have clear 
ideas and correct notions of the questions 
which this amendment of the senator 
from Wiscong.in has presented to us. What 
is meant by the proposition of law tO' ex- 
tend the constitution of the United States 
to the territories? Why, sir, the thing is 
utterly impossible. All the legislation in 
the world in this general form couid not 
accomplish it." Mr. Webster maintained 
that a territory, while yet in a territorial 
state, is not a part of the United States. 
Senator Calhoun interrupted to say, "They 
belong to the United States." Webster re- 
torted, "That is another thing." 

This suffices to show the sentiments of 
the senators from the two sections on 
Walker's proposition. Senator Dodge re- 
fused to vote for the amendment of his 
colleague, but it went through the Demo- 
cratic senate by a vote of 29 to 27, and 
was subsequently lost in conference. 



Dodge in tlie Benton-Foote Incident. 

This debate on slavery extension was 
but a prelude to the exciting controversies 
which arose in the next congress. Feeling 
ran high. The Fugitive Slave bill was 
under discussion, and other questions 
nearly or remotely related to the subject 
of slavery. On April 13, 1850. occurred the 
personal encounter between Senators Ben- 
ton and Foote. During the heat of the de- 
bate on sectional questions the Mississippi 
senator indulged in remarks of a personal 
character against Benton, and the latter 
strode down the aisle toward Foote in a 
threatening manner. Foote backed away, 
at the same time drawing a pistol. The 
senate was in an uproar and bloodshed was 
imminent. Senator Dodge, the friend of 
Benton, was quickly at the side of the Mis- 
souri senator, grasped him and pushed him 
back into his seat. Senators crowded 
around Foote and he was disarmed. Ben- 
ton was greatly excited, loudly calling 
upon Dodge, "Let me go. Let the assassin 
shoot." The excitement was quelled and 
strong speeches were made on both sides 
o: the chamber deprecating the disgraceful 
affair. Senator Dodge made a high-toned 
and temperate speech denouncing the oc- 
currence and demanding the appointment 
of a committee to investigate it and make 
proper report to the senate. The motion 
was carried. When the vice-president ap- 
pointed Gen. Dodge as chairman of the 
committee, the Wisconsin senator arose 
and said that his personal relations and 
friendship for one of the participants 
would make it improper for him to serve. 
Senator Foote said that it was well known 
that the Wisconsin senator meant Benton 
as his personal friend, but, so far as he 
(Foote) was cencerned, he would be pleased 
to have Senator Dodge serve. Dodge per- 
emptorily declined, however, and another 
was appointed. The report of the com- 
mittee made on July 30 made no recom- 



mendations, but was In the nature of a re- 
buke of the participants in the unfortunate 
affair. 

The Wisconsin congressional delegation 
was well established at the seat of gov- 
ernment during the second session of the 
Thirtieth congrese. In the elections of 
1848 the Whig tickets were generally suc- 
cessful throughout the country. The hero 
of Buena Vista was chosen president. 
Messrs. Lynde and Darling retired from 
the house, the former to return agai.i 
twenty-seven years later. Wisconsin eent 
as her next representatives Charles Dur- 
kee, Orsamus Cole and former territorial 
governor, James Duane Doty, the appor- 
tionment having given the state an ad- 



ditional representative. Messrs. Dodge 
and Walker were reelected and served un- 
til 1857 and 1855 respectively. 

From 1848 down through the half cen- 
tury of Wisconsin's career as a state, the 
congresisional delegation s-teadily increased 
in members, keeping pace with the in- 
crease in the population of the common- 
wealth. In the house and senate the state 
has been represented by men who have 
upheld through these years the honor and 
dignity of Wisconsin. Many there are in 
the long line of legislators from the state 
in the years from 1848 to 1898 who might 
have said, when their terms ended: 

"I have done the state some service, and they 
know't." 





LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



ill II III nil III ii 1 1 ,:: I 
016 091 229 7 



^s^^^m^ 



